A Tale of Elfen Lied
by keithallen
Summary: A continuation of the Anime starting at the point where the anime left off. Daddy comes looking for Lucy.
1. Chapter 1

** This story starts right at the end of episode 13 of Elfen Lied.  
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**Rated "M" for extreme violence.  
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A tale of Elfen Lied PT 1

There was something she needed to do.

That's what Lucy told Kouta as they parted from that glorious kiss he given her atop the stone steps that overlooked the bay. She still felt the sensation of his lips on hers. The feel of his arms as he held her so tight. Licking her lips, she swore she could still taste him too. She felt sad about what she had to do, but now that she knew Kouta did love her, it was fine. She had confessed her sins to Kouta, and although he didn't forgive her, he loved her anyway. She could die happy with that knowledge. There would be no 'spread' of her kind, no large groups of horned children to threaten Kouta's life. She would die to keep her love safe.

Looking back up to the top of the stairs, she saw him watching her walk away. She smiled and waved. He waved back. "Good bye Kouta, I will love you forever," she whispered to herself.

The dreamy feel of their intimate hug stayed with her as she went back to the bridge. Getting close enough to see it, she noted a couple shapes fade back into darkness of an alley. The whisper of quiet radio-talk drifted to her. They knew she was coming.

Not wanting anyone else to get hurt, she strode down the empty street and turned to walk past a set of barricades at the end of the bridge. From behind another set in front of her, a large pack of armed men popped up. Bright lights flashed into being, blinding her. Behind her, she heard running steps.

Knitting her brows at the injustice of this being the only way she could ever show Kouta how much she loved him, she said again, "Good bye, Kouta."

"FIRE!" came a command.

The bullets came in a heavy rain from in front and behind. By instinct, she stopped them or deflected them away. She hadn't meant to do that. Her reflexes had taken over. Fighting against her instinct to survive, she launched her vectors into the air. Right after she did so, her head exploded in pain as a bullet hit to knock off her other horn. She then hit the pavement hard as her feet were jerked out from under her. Cracking her head on the road brought stars to her eyes.

It impact shocked her. She had a brief thought that bullets don't knock people down like that.

Landing on her side, she saw the soldiers in front of her, shift quickly to the right. No, they didn't move. She was bring dragged. As this registered, she felt hands on her legs that now stuck through the guardrails. She was pulled through the guard rails, confused as to what was happening.

The next thing she knew, something had her and she was falling off the bridge. Again, instinct demanded she reach for the rails to stop her fall, but the pain in her head had disabled her vectors. Her fall slowed, stopping just above the water with a jerk. Her dazed eyes saw she was over what looked like a black, overturned boat. The surface was rounded, a small rudder like thing stuck above the water not far from where the boat hull disappeared into the water. A black clad arm was clamped around her, just under her breasts. The dark hull below her seemed to fill her whole vision. Lucy passed out.

Lucy stood inside the entrance of the Maple Inn. In front of her, Kouta cast his gentle smile at her. They raised their arms to hug, but Kouta was jerked away from her. Behind him several small red-eyed children stood, with grins full of jagged teeth. A mass of vectors pulled Kouta back into them in slow motion. Lucy tried to use her vectors to stop them, but her own refused to come out. She wanted to run and save him, but she couldn't move. She was powerless to stop them from dragging Kouta to them. Holding him above their heads, they laughed in horrid sounding giggles as they ripped him apart..

"Kooouuuutaaaa!" Lucy screamed, and snapped her eyes open. Panting in fear, she no longer saw the grisly scene, but a white ceiling.

Lifting her head, Lucy saw she lay in bed in a small, oddly shaped room. Thick covers lay over her. The room, like the ceiling, was white. Unlike a normal room, the walls of this one tipped in at the bottom, and by the head of her bed the walls closed to only the width of the narrow slatted wooden door by her head. Natural light came from narrow slot-type windows near the ceiling. In the other corner across from the solid wooden door by the foot of her bed, An oddly shaped glass that was wide at the bottom, and narrow at the top with water in it, and small plastic cup sat on a shelf. A paper with large letters was taped on the wall above the shelf. Confused, she took a moment to remember the night before. Yes, someone had pulled her down and taken her off the bridge.

She frowned at the paper and tried to read it. She knew the letters, but they made no sense. Studying it, she realized whoever wrote it had written it backwards. Instead of right to left, the letters read left to right, saying :

**Bandage no take off**

**Eat pills drink water**

Lucy moved to get up and pain stabbed her head. Clapping a hand to her head, she felt someone had bandaged her. A quick probing showed the thickest parts where her horns used to be. She had no idea where she was, but she doubted whoever had grabbed her was with the men of that facility she had escaped from. She'd been taken by some idiot who couldn't write properly.

Groaning her way to her feet, she heard a low, throaty motor pass by her tiny room. Right after that, the room bobbed and shifted side to side. Grabbing onto her bed, she braced herself. In a room beyond hers, some man yelled unintelligible words. If she had to guess, he was cursing at the motor that had passed by.

Where in the hell was she?

Picking up the glass, she took a sip of water to ease her thirst. The small cup had two white pills in it. They looked like the painkillers Yuka stocked the bathroom shelf with. Not knowing for sure, she didn't take them.

Standing up, she noted a wooden pole by the window on her left. Stretching on tip-toe, she noted a platform running past. On the other side of the platform, a boat rocked at it's anchor, just as her room was. She was on a boat.

More grumbling came from the other room. Someone was shifting papers. Lucy took another drink from the strange glass, then slowly opened the door.

A man was picking papers up off the floor and slapping them back onto a desk. He grumbled again as he got the last ones, then shuffle them together. His eyes were rounded, his light brown hair showed gray on his temples. He wore an insanely bright multi-colored shirt, shorts, and brown slip-on shoes. He moved to turn to the stove on his other side, and stopped mid motion as he saw her.

"Yes!" he said happily as he waved to her.

Lucy stared at the idiot. "Who are you?" she asked, sure that he couldn't have been the one to snap her off the bridge so efficiently.

He paused, then as if remembering how, he bowed to her and said in halting words. "Greetings, good morning." Pointing to the food on the stove, he added, "Breakfast, eat food."

This had to be the dumbest man on the face of the Earth.

"How about if you just get out of my way so I can leave?" Lucy asked heavily.

He paused again, as if thinking, then pointed to the papers he had picked up. "You leave ... anytime. Please show me ... island ... place run you from."

Although she could understand him, doing so was not easy. He had a strange accent that seemed to permeate every word. "You want to know how I escaped from that facility?" she guessed.

The man nodded, then shifted some papers, putting two photos and a long paper on top. Pointing to them he said, "Please, show ... path ... walked."

Tentatively approaching, Lucy looked at what he was pointing to. The photos showed the island facility. She recognized the jutting point she'd seen just before she was knocked out by the bullet. The long paper had a drawing on it. She realized it was a drawing of the floor she'd left through. She also noted that the notes he had made were illegible scribbles.

The man was watching her expectantly. She shook her head. "You do not want to go there," she said in warning.

The man bobbed his head, "Please show. Must go."

This imbicile wouldn't have a prayer against those men. Trying to make him understand, she waved her hands in a no-no gesture. "Do not go there. They kill people." she said sternly.

The man frowned at her. In his heavy accented, halting speech, he said, "Daughter there, I must go ... retrieve daughter."

Lucy's jaw dropped. They had taken his daughter, and he was going to try to rescue her. By the look in his eyes, he was dead serious about getting her back. Speaking slowly to be sure he understood, she said, "You cannot go. They will kill you. You will not save your daughter."

"Must go," he said firmly. "Must try ... until dead."

"You poor man," Lucy said softly.

"Please show," he said again in a pleading tone.

Part of her thought about showing him so he'd get out of her way. Another part hated to see this man who was willing to die to save his daughter, do just that. She noted a holstered pistol hanging by the harness on the other side of him. He was going to go, and he most likely was going to die in a hail of gunfire.

"What is name?" he asked, pointing to her.

Not wanting to admit who she was, she said, "Yuka."

"Yuka, if you ... had daughter, there ... you would not go?" he asked.

Right then, something ripped at Lucy's heart. Yes, she'd go. She'd search and destroy that place until either she found her daughter, or they killed her. Just as he was going to do now. He may be the dumbest man on Earth, but it was obvious he loved his daughter.

"Show me where. I ... have better chance if you show me," he said.

Lucy showed him. Once she traced her path as well as she could remember it back to the elevator, he raised fingers, and asked (she guessed) how many floors she had traveled. She held up four fingers. He shuffled through the papers and brought out another floor plan, and pointed to the elevator. It took her a minute, but she was able to trace back to the steel vault she had come from.

"Thank you, thank you," he said, then gestured to the stove. "Please, eat food."

Feeling sick knowing this clueless man was going to die for the sake of his daughter, she shook her head, saying, "I must go now."

The man pointed to an array of summer hats on the far wall. "Take one ... hide head," he said, smiling at her. He stepped against the wall by the stove so she could pass.

Lucy went past him and picked a wide brimmed hat. Looking back at him, she asked, "What's your daughter's name?"

"Kai ..Dee," he said.

Lucy cast him a sad smile and said, "I hope you find her."

"Thank you," he said again, and bowed to her.

Lucy walked to the steps in the back of the cabin to emerge in daylight. She crossed the board to the dock. As she walked down the dock, a nagging question filled her mind. Had either of her parents ever tried to find her? Since she was abandoned in an orphanage, she doubted it.

This Kai Dee was a lucky girl to have a father who cared so much for her.

.

Lucy was nervous about returning to the Maple Inn. Did Kouta share what he knew with Yuka? Would either of them want her back? Although Kouta said he loved her, would he be willing to live with her now he knew what she had done? Fearing being rejected by Kouta, she turned around and headed back to the docks where the man's boat was. That man was a simpleton, but that was the only other place she could feel safe going to sleep for the night.

Going back on board the boat, she tried the door into the cabin. It was locked. "Oh great," she muttered. As she turned to leave, the door opened.

"Eat breakfast ... food?" the man asked happily from the stairs.

Lucy beamed him back the same smile he gave her. "Please," she said.

He ushered her in and cleared off a place at the paper-strewn table for her. He retrieved a dish that was neither quite a plate or a bowl, and another of those wide bottomed glasses. Both bore soft rubber bottoms on them.

Tapping the bottom of the glass, Lucy asked, "Why are they like this?"

The man paused then picked up a flat tray and set her glass on it. He filled the glass with orange juice to it's neck, which was halfway up it's height. He then tipped the tray sharply to one side, then the other as he slowly lifted and dropped it. Lucy expected juice to go flying. The glass stayed in place on the tray and didn't loose a drop. He set the glass back down in front of her.

"Boat ... roll. Glass not dump," he said.

"That is amazing," Lucy said.

He cast her a grin, then picked up a pan and shoveled scrambled eggs and ham slices onto her plate.

"Stop, enough, I'm not THAT hungry," Lucy said as he was ready to pile another big scoop of eggs onto her plate.

"Eat, good," he said with a big smile.

The man had no chopsticks, but the spoon he had given her had short tine-like teeth on the end.

Lucy frowned at the thing, never having seen anything like this before.

Pointing to it, the man said, "Spork."

The word was so silly, Lucy giggled. "You made that up," she accused.

The man shook his head and again said, "Spork."

Lucy nodded. If she repeated it, she was afraid she'd fall into a laughing fit. "What is your name?" she asked, wanting to call him something other than 'dumb man'.

"Jonathan," he said, pointing to himself.

"Thank you for the food, Jonathan."

He nodded, and repeated, "Eat good." Sitting down across from her, he scanned his papers and scrutinizing the drawings. Every so often, he'd make another note.

Lucy watched him as he made his notes in some writing style she had never seen before. She also realized as she ate that she was really hungry. Watching him pour over his drawings and notes, she cleaned her plate.

A cell phone rang. Jonathan picked it up and spoke in his strange language as he looked over his work. He talked gibberish in a flowing way he couldn't do when speaking normally. He paused and grabbed a pack of notes. He wrote as he listened, then let out another string of words. After that he looked at his notebook, and said something she understood.

"Kurama" he'd said in a question as he spoke.

Lucy tried to listen, but understood nothing except one name. A name she knew too well. Once he closed his phone up, she asked, "Do you know Kurama?"

He looked up, paused and said, "Kurama dead. One less to ... be concerned with."

Lucy scanned the photos and drawings again. Somehow, Jonathan had gathered much information on that facility, including people who worked there. He was obviously much smarter than she thought he was. "Why do you speak so strange?" she asked.

"Japanese not first language. English first language. Yes it does show?" he asked.

"How did your daughter end up there?" she asked.

Jonathan stopped leafing through his notes. Folding his arms on the table, he explained in his broken speech, "Wife, Azusa, was Japanese. Azusa was with child. I had ... work far away. Azusa had child, daughter. I tried to talk to Azusa after daughter born. No answer on phone. I went home fast. No one there. Report was ... thief... killed Azusa. Very sad then. I wanted to kill thief. I searched for truth. No record of daughter found, but I know Azusa had child. After birth, I heard child cry with own ears."

Jonathan then laid a hand on his thick notebook. "I search, I write, I search and ... study. I found daughter ... tracks. I kept search ... long time. Island is where daughter is. I go there, retrieve daughter."

"You've never seen her," Lucy stated more than asked.

Jonathan shook his head.

"They have an army there. How can you get her back?"

"No concern army. Concern retrieve daughter." His face then fell as he said, "Family ... loved ones ... hold them close. Yuka, when you go ... home, hold them close. Do not let go."

Lucy felt her lip quivering. What was it about this man that made her want to break down in tears? "How can I help you?" she asked.

"You showed me your path, I have good chance now. Thank you."

Stiffening herself, Lucy said," You'll have a better chance if I go with you."

"No," he said firmly. "You go home, hold family close. Loved ones need you."

Lucy was about to say that she didn't have any loved ones. That was untrue, she had Kouta. She also wanted to see him very badly. "I'm scared I won't be wanted," she said quietly.

Jonathan's voice became soft. "Yuka, I want daughter. I never ... see her, but she is my family. I know your family .. is same. They love Yuka. Want to see Yuka. Go home, hold family tight."

Despite her best efforts, a tear rolled down her cheek. "You are a good man. Thank you," she said softly.

Cracking a grin, Jonathan jerked his thumb behind him and said, "Go home ... before you wet floor."

.

It took Lucy the rest of the day to find the Maple Inn. As Jonathan told her, when Kouta opened the gate, a smile lit his face and he hugged her tight. Everyone else was happy to see her as Kouta steered her to her seat at the table, where she noticed Yuka had already set a place for her.

During the meal, Lucy told them about Jonathan and his search for his daughter. She left out the part where he was going. Yuka seemed a bit concerned that Jonathan did not know Japanese well. Their language could be tricky to someone like Jonathan. Discussing it, they decided to accompany Lucy back to Jonathan's boat to be sure he had not mis-interpreted information that may have mislead him on his search.

.

Jonathan sat watching Mr. N. work on his computer. His wild attire was gone, he wore a turtleneck sweater and gray slacks. "So, what is their tally from last night's battle?" he asked in English.

Scrutinizing the hacked information, Mr. N said in English, "It seems they killed Lucy, the one they were after. Though the haven't found her body, she was confirmed as falling. Number seven fell into the water and is presumed dead. The youngest Diclonius, Mariko, also died with Kurama. They also suffered significant losses."

"Anything about Kaidee?" Jonathan asked.

Mr. N shook his head. "No, but they only go by code names. I doubt 'Lucy' is a real name either."

"It's not. Her real name is Yuka," Jonathan told him.

Mr. N glanced at him. "And you know this how?" he asked.

"She told me this morning. She's not Kaidee, but at least she got away."

Mr. N stared at him. "From everything here, Lucy is a ruthless, cold blooded killer. How did you manage to talk to her?" he asked.

Jonathan shrugged. "A wild shirt, your boat and playing dumb. She was confused, curious, and convinced I was harmless."

"You harmless," Mr. N said with a humorless chuckle. "That mistake could cost someone their life."

"It has, but to people who deserve it, not victims," Jonathan reminded him. "Any clue on who number seven really is?" he asked again.

"Nothing unless they have it in an isolated system I can't get to. To search, you'd have to go there."

Jonathan left out a sigh, then said, "So be it, I have to head out there anyway. We'll just hack their system while I'm at it. Get ready to do a remote shutdown of their power if need be. You may have to re-route or intercept alarm traffic as well. I'll go tomorrow night, be ready."

"You want a lot." Mr N. told him.

"I want my daughter. I pay you well to help with that." Jonathan said sternly. "I have to go check out some phone traffic I tapped into. This lady was concerned about rumors of a horned girl living with her daughter and nephew." He got up and left.

Mr. N. watched him go then said, "Keep playing with dynamite, you're bound to get blown up."

.

The taxi dropped them off at the head of the docks. Noting the large boats laying at anchor, Yuka said, "So, this is how people with money live."

"Must be nice," Kouta noted.

"This way," Lucy said, and led them down to the largest boat on the left. She walked on board and knocked at the cabin door. There was no answer.

"Maybe he's not here," Kouta said. Looking at the bridge above them, he climbed up to see it empty.

Lucy tried the door, it opened. "Jonathan?" she called, peeking her head in. No one answered. She also noticed the interior was clean. No food on the stove, and the cluttered desk was clear. Leaning in farther, she took a couple steps down. There were no hats on the wall, nothing. A cabinet door was open by where his pistol had hung by it's holster. The cabinet like everything else, was empty. She got a bad feeling in her stomach.

"Jonathan?" she called again, walking toward the room she'd awoken in.

"Hey don't do that, we weren't invited in," Kouta hissed in warning.

Lucy checked the bedroom, it was cleaned, the note on the wall was gone. No Jonathan. She turned to see Kouta leaning in, partway down the steps. "He's gone," she said.

"Then we should go too," Kouta said, and motioned her out.

Lucy noted the corner of a piece of paper sticking out from under the stove. She pulled it out. It was one of Jonathan's notes, written in his language. She handed it to Kouta. "Can you read this?"

Kouta took it. He frowned and said, "My English isn't very good."

"Let me see it, and get out of there before someone comes," Yuka said, holding her hand out from behind him.

Once they were all out on deck, Lucy shut the door and said, "We're too late. He's gone after her. He took everything, and he has weapons. This is bad."

Yuka studied the paper for a moment, then said, "This man really does butcher our language. He didn't even get his daughter's name right."

"What do you mean?" Kouta asked, leaning closer.

Pointing out the mistakes on the paper, Yuka said, "His translation here is wrong. These symbols he wrote out in English, he talks about the name he got from orphanage files. A girl that went missing after some terrorist type attack. He calls the girl 'Kai Dee'. That's not right, it's pronounced, 'Ka Da'."

"What?" Kouta gasped.

"Yes, his daughter's name is Kaede, he has it wrong," Yuka said, then noted Lucy was staring at her and turning pale.

Lucy felt disconnected. She couldn't have heard right. "What orphanage?" she asked weakly. "When was this?"

"I don't see a date, but that orphanage is the only one in Kamakura," Yuka said. "As far as when, he mentions here that he investigated other similar attacks. At a festival, and on a..." Yuka fell silent, then looked at Kouta and said, "Your name in on this. He was after the ones who killed your family. He believes they took his Kaede."

Lucy dropped in place to sit, staring off at nothing. Her head was spinning. He was right here, she was right here! "What have I done?" she asked weakly.

Kouta squatted down by Lucy. "What are you taking about?" he asked.

Looking at him with a blank face, Lucy said, "I told him my name was Yuka. If I hadn't lied to him, he might have figured out his mistake. He would not be going to that island where I was held, to the place all those soldiers came from. He's going to try to break me out of there. He'll be killed because of me!"

"Because of you?" Yuka asked.

"I'm Kaede," Lucy said.

Knowing shown in Kouta's eyes as well. "Your father has to go by water right? We're on his boat. We'll just stay right here until he comes back," he said confidently.

.

Jonathan had changed clothes again. This time, he was a tourist with a V neck sweater, cargo pants, and a camera with a huge lens dangling around his neck. He held the map and translation guide up as he walked, searching for this 'Maple Inn'. It wasn't on the tourist guide, but in a phone book, he did find the location from a phone number.

.

Nana didn't know why Wanta was barking, they had just fed him. She opened the door to see a tall, round eyed man inside the gate, admiring a wall.

"Who are you?" she asked cautiously.

The man turned to her and waved, saying "YES!"

Nana's eyed him. "Yes.. to what?" she asked.

The man frowned, then consulted a small book and said, "I come ... to Inn. This Maple Inn?"

Once she figured out what he said, she explained, "It is, but we are not open."

The man looked through his book, then said haltingly, " I am Jonathan ... pleased to meet you. I come to Inn."

Nana gapped at him, then turned and said over her shoulder, "Mayu, could you come here?"

The man said, "You Mayu!" then waved at her again.

"NO, my name is Nana. Mayu is coming to help you, because I have no idea why you are here," Nana said in an exasperated tone.

"Here for Inn," the man said with a big smile.

"This place is not open. Only our family lives here," Nana explained again.

"Family Inn," the man said with a happy nod.

Mayu came out and stopped short upon seeing the man. "Who is he?" Mayu asked.

The man pulled out a paper and held it out to them. "I come to see Kai Dee. Kai Dee at Inn?"

Mayu noted what the paper read. "That is not right, you paper says Ka-Da" she said, pointing at it. "And we don't know her."

"KaDa?" he asked, and turned the paper back to look at it.

"Mayu, what do we do? Yuka should be handling this." Nana said to her friend.

The man looked up at them. "Yuka live at Inn also?" he asked.

Mayu stepped forward and pointed to the gate. "Yes, Yuka does, but we are NOT OPEN. You will have to find another Inn."

"Not ..open..." the man muttered and looked through his book. He then nodded and said, "So sorry, I leave now." He then paused adding, "You see Yuka, give Yuka big hug. Let Yuka ... know Yuka is important." He then wandered back out of the gate.

Nana and Mayu looked at each other, then burst into giggling. They went inside, mimicking Jonathan's bad speech.

"You Mayu, this Inn!" Nana said, then burst out giggling again.

"This Inn ... Not open. Lock door ... before he comes back!" Mayu said then locked the door.

.

"That was embarrassing," Kouta said as he went to open the door. Finding it locked, he unlocked the door and announced, "Mayu, Nana, we're home."

"That man was really upset we were on his boat. At least he didn't call the police," Yuka said, and eyed Lucy. As she kicked off her shoes.

"That wasn't the same man," Lucy insisted.

Nana appeared and pointed stiff-armed at Kouta. "Kouta home! Brought Yuka, Lucy! Yuka important. HUG YUKA!" she then ran over and gave Yuka a tight hug as she giggled.

Mayu appeared and stated in a halting voice. "We ... Not speak well! Like Visitor. Speak like ... cave man!" she too then burst out giggling again.

"What is wrong with you two?" Yuka asked.

Lucy immediately understood why they were talking like that. It was exactly how Jonathan spoke. "How long ago was he here, where did he go?" Lucy asked, poised to run.

Mayu raised her arm and annunced, "He left ... as sun drop from big blue..." , then Lucy cut her off.

"WHERE IS HE!" Lucy yelled.

Shocked by Lucy's anger, Nana frowned and said, "You should have heard him. He sounded like an idiot."

"Don't call my father names!" Lucy spat at Nana. "Which way did he go?"

"Your father?" Mayu asked in shock.

"I'm sorry, we didn't know," Nana offered.

"Which way?" Lucy asked in a growl.

"Up the walk, towards the shrine," Mayu said.

Lucy bolted out the door.

"Lucy has a father?" Nana asked.

Kouta watched Lucy run out and take off up the sidewalk. He then asked, "How did he know to come here?"

.

Jonathan made sure no one was watching, then unlocked the large padlock and slipped through the grating into the tunnel built during the second world war. He put the lock back on and went a few yards by memory before finally turning on his small flashlight. Even then, he kept the light covered, leaking out only enough to see directly in front of him until he reached the chamber to the old underground submarine base.

The football field sized chamber was dominated by crumbing buildings on the sides and a long concrete dock that was accessible only by an underwater tunnel that lead off shore. His small black submarine lay anchored at the dock. On the dock by it was the sheet metal shed that held his gear, and the small tent that held his inflatable mattress.

Opening the shed, he pulled out the rack with the building drawings on it then turned on the light in the shed. The light shown down on crates of tools and explosives. On the back wall, a rack held his rifles and the assault rifle. His pistols hung on hooks below them. All his weapons had silencers.

Scanning his weapons, he shook his head and said in perfectly fluent Japanese, "I had this stuff just in case. Never thought I'd actually have to use it."

He looked over the building plans again, memorizing every corner, wall and ceiling placement, material thickness, air vent and service pipe. "I'm coming Kaede, please be alive when I find you," he said to himself.

.

Kouta stayed up, or rather slept sitting against the wall of the entryway until Lucy finally got home. He heard the door open, and lifted his head. "Find him?" he asked. Even as he asked it, her look of frustration told him she hadn't.

Lucy settled down beside Kouta. "How can he do that?" she asked. "He pulled me off the bridge and took me to that boat, then disappeared before we got back there. He was here, right here! Yet he has vanished again."

"He's probably desperate. How long has it been since you last saw him?" Kouta asked.

Lucy shook her head. "Never. He admitted he has never seen me. I don't even remember my mother. He told me her name was Azusa." Lucy's face scrunched up in pain as she said, "Kouta, I lied to him. He has searched for me all these years, and I LIED to him."

"Did you tell him you were coming back here?" Kouta asked.

"Not specifically, I just said I was going home. Why?"

"Yet he came here looking for you," Kouta noted. "You know, for a man who can barely speak, he seems to know quite a few things most people don't know."

Lucy frowned and said, "Yes, he does. I hope he comes back, I really hope he knows I AM here."

"You told him your name was Yuka, right?" Kouta asked. Lucy nodded. Kouta shifted himself around so he was facing her. Casting her a soft smile, he said, "Apparently he made a point to Nana and Mayu that Yuka needs a hug. Yuka is important. To me, at least."

Lucy returned his smile. They fell into a hug.


	2. Chapter 2

Jonathan studied the cliff face of the island through his night vision periscope. There was no moonlight, but even with the few stars that shone through the light cloud cover, the island was as bright as day to his eyes. The vertical cliffs were truly not vertical, the entire island was tipped slightly to one side. Seeing the drawings in his mind, he knew the closest point between the cliff face and man made structures was under the overhang. He had no reason to climb the cliffs to enter through a door. All he needed was to get the the lower floors where they kept the captured diclonius.

Moving steadily towards the island, he saw what he was looking for. Three meters up from the waterline of the island, he found the grating that covered a sluice chiseled out of the rock to dump waste water. The plans said it was one and a half meters across. Plenty of room. Guiding his submarine under the grating, he opened the air valves slowly and surfaced. A scan of the sea and air showed no craft. Wearing a dull black combat suit, he opened the hatch and got out.

Once Jonathan anchored his boat in place with a few rock climbing pinions, he let fly with a grappling hook at the grating. It took him four tries to catch it. He jerked down on the rope hard. Satisfied it would hold, he put his belt pack on and climbed the rope.

The grating was old, but not degraded enough to rip out. He pulled a battery powered grinder out and cut the lower grating bolts. He climbed the grating, repositioned his grapple to the top , then lowered himself and cut the bottom two-thirds of the grating away. Each piece he held in place, then spun it edge on as he tossed it away so the splash when it hit the water would be minimized. Once the grating was gone, he climbed into the sluice. Pulling on a small rope at his side, he hauled up his equipment pack. Turning on his cap light, he went up the sluice on all fours.

Noting a Y split, he went to the left – the direction of the holding cells. The sluice opened up into a larger vault where several smaller sluices drained into.

Pulling out a waterproofed copy of the sluice plan, he rechecked the location of a concrete wall that was shared by the end holding cell. This was the most dangerous part, if people were on the other side, he'd be found out quick.

Throwing a rope over an overhead pipe, he hauled himself up to the level just above where the floor level of the cell should be. He changed the head on his battery tool and put on the masonry saw. Grinding a hole in the wall made noise, but it couldn't be helped. Once he had cut an oval out, he used his pry bar to pull out the cut piece of wall to him, then let it fall into the vault, which made a thundering boom.

Pistol out, he noted the room beyond was dark. Good, no one there. He hoisted himself in and again, pulled his bag in behind him. As he opened it up, a soft noise like a moan came to him. Squatting, he swung to the noise looking over the sights of his pistol. He thumbed on the gun light.

He wasn't alone. A naked girl half sat slumped against a battered wall. Dangling by her wrist cuffs, the chains were the only thing holding her in a sitting position. Her horned head was down. Even from here he could see her ribs and hip bones. Breasts that should have been full with youth, lay deflated on her chest.

Jonathan scanned the rest of the room. The control room across from her was dark, the camera that watched her was off, there was no red light. To be sure, he shot it anyway. A muffled 'pop' sounded, and the camera shook as pieces flew off it from the impact

Moving quickly, Jonathan walked to the girl, pulling out a few break&shake lights. He scattered these on the floor around her. Kneeling by her, he supported her body as he removed her cuffs. Guiding her body to fall into him, he held her and checked her pulse. She was alive, but barely. He wet her dry, cracked lips with his canteen, then wet them again.

The girl moaned and licked her lips.

"OK, come on," Jonathan coaxed, and splashed a bit more water on her lips. Her eyes came partway open. This time as he put the canteen to her lips, she drank hungrily.

"Not too much, easy," he coaxed, pulling the canteen back. "You'll get sick if you drink too much at once."

He gave her a few more mouthfuls of water, then opened up a pocket on his arm and pulled out a small candy bar. He ripped it open, then broke the chocolate in half and gave her a piece. She swallowed it quickly. He gave her another mouthful of water, then the rest of the candy.

"What's your name?" he asked, thinking she should be about the same age as his daughter.

She looked up at him. In a raspy voice, she said, "Your eyes look strange. You are not like the other men."

"Thank you for noticing," he said, smiling at her. "My name is Jonathan, what is your name?"

"Thirty three," she said, and looked at the canteen. "More?"

"Just a mouthful," he said, and let her drink. "All you have is a number, no name?" he asked.

She looked at him blankly and asked, "Am I useful again? Is that why they sent you?"

Jonathan shook his head. "I'm here to get my daughter, the people here have her. I'm going to take her back from them," he explained. Looking over at the room beyond the widows, he was sure there had to be a computer in there.

"Daughter, what is that?" she asked.

"Can you walk?" he asked, noting that with her bone-thin legs, she probably couldn't.

She tried to get up and didn't even move off of him. "I'm too weak," she said.

Jonathan leaned her back against the wall and gave her the canteen. "Here, only drink mouthfuls, I'll be right back."

The door to the room had no latch or knob on this side. He took out his pen-like window breaker and put it against the window. A click on the device produced a 'thump', then the entire window shattered and fell. He climbed through the opening, opened the door, and wedged it open with a chair. He pleasantly noted there were two computers to one side of the array of controls.

Returning to the girl he refused to think of as 'thirty three', Jonathan picked her up and carried her into the control room. He got her seated, then brought in his bag and a couple of the break and shake lights that still glowed brightly. He turned the computers on, then opened his bag and got out a black box.

Watching as he worked, the girl asked, "What is daughter?"

"A girl child. She's be seventeen now, and most likely look a lot like you," he said, casting her a smile. He plugged the box into the computers, turned everything on, then pulled out his radio.

"Mr. N. , I'm in, your turn." he said.

There was no reply, but the red light on the box began to blink quickly. On one computer, then the other, the 'password required' message was replaced by entry screens, then changed again, file names scrolled down in long lines.

"Can I eat more now?" the girl asked hopefully.

Jonathan dug out a pair of granola bars. He opened one, showing her how to do it, then handed them to her. "I don't have much, so be sure to eat slow. If you eat too fast, you will vomit them back up and they will be wasted." He handed her the canteen with the same warning.

The sight of her emaciated naked body bothered him, but he also saw she was cold. There was no clothing in the room, so he pulled out the emergency blanket he'd brought and wrapped her in it.

A message came onto the computer screen on his right. - J, no reference to number seven identity, or term Kaede in files. What now? -

Jonathan keyed his radio. "Get creative. Look for any females brought here between eight and thirteen years ago. Match them to a code. Find out if they are still here."

"What will you do with your daughter when you get her?" the girl asked in a smoother voice now that her throat wasn't parched.

"Do with her?" Jonathan asked. A smile settled onto his face as he said, "Give her a home, good food to eat, a nice place to sleep. Most of all, keep her safe from people like the ones who work here."

"Can I be your daughter?" she asked.

Jonathan laughed and said, "I don't know, you may be, you may not be. That's what I'm trying to find out now."

"Please don't leave me here," the girl said, eyeing him sadly.

"I won't. Daughter or not, I'm not going to leave you to these animals," he told her.

Another message came up on the screen. - J, Two females left, 33 and 28. All others deceased. Also found hundreds of infants deceased. These are NOT nice people. -

Jonathan shook his head. Keying his radio, he said, "Locate twenty eight. Show me on a map if you can."

The screen changed a few times, then a floor map came up. The room he was in showed the number 33, three rooms down to the right showed the number 28.

The door to the hallway opened. Two men came in, one flicked the light on as they strode in. The girl squeaked in fear. Jonathan whipped out his pistol and had the second man in his sights as they turned to gape at him.

"Move and you die. Hands in the air," Jonathan commanded.

The men looked at each other as the door automatically shut behind them. One man fumbled with something in his pocket. Jonathan shot him in the head. A spray of bone, blood and brain to spatter on the wall behind him as the man fell. Jonathan then turned his pistol on the other one.

"Now," Jonathan said heavily.

The man thrust his hands in the air.

"Turn and face the wall," Jonathan commanded. The man did so.

Jonathan got up and pushed him into the wall, then searched him. He tossed the man's wallet a pen, and a notebook onto the floor. Satisfied the man had nothing else, Jonathan backed off and said, "Strip."

"S... strip?" the man asked.

"Let me make myself clear. Strip, or I kill you and strip your body."

The man began taking off his clothes. As he did, he kept glancing back at the girl. "Number thirty three is a killer, she'll kill you too. Please, don't do this," he begged.

"If she wants, I'll give her the gun," Jonathan grated.

"You don't understand, she doesn't need a gun. She has her vectors!" the man cried.

"I wouldn't want her soiling her vectors with your blood. Come on, everything," Jonathan said, noting the man pausing at taking off his underwear.

Once the man was naked, Jonathan made him go into the chamber and sit where the girl had been. Jonathan then chained him by his wrists to the wall. Going back into the control room he snapped up the clothes and helped the girl get into them. He put the blanket back around her and pointed to the man he'd chained up.

"Now you get to see him chained to a wall. I'd like it if you don't kill him yet. I may have questions for him later."

"I won't because you asked me not to," the girl said.

Jonathan dug in his bag and got out a fake grenade and a smoke bomb. He slung his semi-auto rifle across his back and went for the door.

"Don't leave me!" the girl cried.

Jonathan stumbled back as she grabbed him with her vectors. Slowly, he turned and went back to her. Speaking softly but firmly, he said, "Listen, I have to go get my daughter. I will be back soon, but right now I must go. There is another girl who need help too, OK?"

The girl eyed him pleadingly. "You said you would not leave me here."

"And I won't. You will be leaving with me, out that hole I came in. I will be back to get you, but I have to get her first. If you were the other girl, wouldn't you want me to come get you?" he asked gently.

She gave a nod and said, "Go, but hurry. They hurt us."

"Not after I'm done with them," he assured her.

'

Kouta walked down the hall with Lucy beside him. Heading for bed, he opened his door and said, "I'm really happy you're back. Don't worry, I'm sure your father will find you."

Lucy gripped his hand. She gazed at him sadly for a moment, then whispered, "I don't want to be alone."

Kouta nodded and led her into his room. He released her and got his futon out, then looked at the single pillow. "You can have the pillow," he told her. Not wanting to get undressed, he laid down plumped up the pillow for her.

Lucy laid down beside him, her cheeks pink. She pushed the pillow under his head, then laid her head on his chest. "Is this OK?" she asked.

Kouta put an arm around her. Suddenly they were holding each other tight. "This is fine," he said, and covered them up. Reaching over, he turned off the light.

In the darkness, Lucy savored the feel of her Kouta right beside her. Softly she said, "He told me to hold tight to the ones you love. To never let them go."

"Your father sounds like a wise man," Kouta replied.

Lucy relished her Kouta so close to her. The long day and the warmth of Kouta right beside her was a narcotic. She fell asleep holding her love.

.

Number 28's chamber was just like the other girl's. From the hallway, a single door led in, then a door from that room was the only entrance into the chamber where a horned girl sat against the wall chained by her wrists. Like the other girl this one too had a strange hair color, it was blonde, but a strong, brilliant yellow that he'd never seen before. He'd thought it had just been his colored break&shake lights that made her hair look strange. This room was normally lit. In this control room, and all the panels glowed with active lights. A small monitor also showed the girl from a ceiling point of view.

Jonathan opened the door to the chamber. "Hey, Miss! You have a name?" he asked loudly.

The girl looked up. Unlike the other girl, this one was not starvation thin. She shook her head and said, "PLease not yet, I have more rest time. Let me rest a while longer, please?"

Jonathan shrugged and said, "OK, but I'm leaving. If you don't want to get out of here, thats fine by me. Still, I'd like to know your name."

The girl tipped her head. "My number is 28. I've been told my name no longer matters."

"It does, believe me. Do you remember it?"

"Yuki. And you?" she asked with a crooked grin.

"Jonathan. Haven't heard of a Kaede here, have you?"

"I don't get to see anyone else besides the men in that window. You don't look like them. Are you going to do something to me?" she asked.

"Only shoot those chains off you so you can leave. That is unless you're happy here," Jonathan told her.

Yuki stared at him, then burst out laughing. "Good trick! No one has tried that one yet. Go on, shoot me with whatever you've got!" She then stuck her chest out.

Jonathan unslung his rifle. He shot the right chain then the left. The chains dropped away from her. Re-shouldering his rifle, he said, "There you go Yuki, come if you want. Stay if you want. It's up to you."

Yuki stared at her now free arms and stood up. "You really did it," she marveled.

"Come if you're coming, I got things to do before I leave," Jonathan told her, then walked out.

Returning to the first room, Jonathan noted a new message on the computer screen.

- number 28 ID'd Yamakura Yuki, age 16. Number 33 ID'd Kamatsu Ayami, age 15. No sign of Kaede anywhere in files -

Jonathan knew they brought Kaede here. There were only two girls left alive. That meant they killed his little girl. It was time to teach these bastards a lesson. He keyed the radio and said, "Got the message. Situation is hot. Infect system and cut comms."

A giggle sounded behind him. He turned to see Yuki looking at the naked man in chains.

Wearing an unpleasant grin, she said, "Now I get to throw things at him!"

"Have fun and try not to kill him yet, I'll be back on my way out," Jonathan told her. He then got more clips for his pistol, all five clips for the rifle, the three live grenades and four brick sized blocks of explosives. He walked out the door and heard the man belt out a scream. Somehow, he couldn't feel sorry for him.

.

It was like shooting fish in a barrel. Only a few guards were awake. Jonathan popped those, then tossed a charge into their quarters and shut the door. Standing back around a corner, he watched the door blow out from the thunderous detonation. He then went in and killed whoever was left alive. A few of the scientists came running to see what happened. Pop, pop, pop. Jonathan stepped over their bodies and continued on.

The elevator was stopped, the up and down buttons flickered. The computer virus Mr. N. had put into the system apparently was affecting that also. Jonathan found the stairs. Going up, he heard running feet coming down. He aimed his rifle. It was four guards in a line. He shot as they saw him. The last guard had time to pull his pistol, but fell with a bullet in his head before he could shoot back.

On the second floor, Jonathan found a group of plain clothed men and women in a cafeteria with a guard trying to calm them down. He shot the guard, then asked loudly, "Hey, anyone here know Kaede?"

The group stared at him, wide-eyed. "Don't shoot!" cried one woman as others screamed and dropped to cower on the floor.

"Then give me answers! Who runs this place, and what happened to Kaede?" he asked.

A man came in saying, "The phones don't work." He saw Jonathan and tried to flee. Jonathan shot him in the head.

"Director Kakuzawa!" the woman cried. "He is in charge of this facility."

"And Kaede, what happened to her? I know she was here, you people would call her a diclonius."

"I ... we give them code names, no one knows what their real names were," the woman said.

"I called her daughter," Jonathan said heavily, then added, "Catch!" He tossed a grenade to her, then left. The woman caught it instinctively. Once she saw what it was, she dropped it and screamed. It detonated, stopping her scream.

Jonathan went through the facility, asking about Kaede and killing people. Finding the fuel supply for the generators, he left a charge under the fuel tanks, and made sure the doors were jammed open before he left the area. Spying a fire hose station, he tucked a grenade into the rolled up fire hose, and laid the nozzle over it. He pulled the pin and walked on.

Checking his watch, Jonathan noted he had fifteen minutes left. He found the helo pad, and rigged the only helicopter with another explosive charge wired to the passenger seat in the back. On his way back down, he noted a guard desperately trying to shut a blast door. Pop. He put a grenade under the guard's body.

The last charge he had, he rigged to the stairway door down to the third sub-level. On his way down to the fourth sub-level, he met Yuki coming up.

Johnathan waved her back down. "I wouldn't go that way if I were you. I left a few nasty traps. Besides, you won't be able to get off the island that way," he told her.

Yuki stopped and eyed him. "You're killing people?" she asked with a smirk.

"They killed my daughter. They had it coming," he stated as he passed her. Stopping, he added, "And there's more to come. You really should come this way."

"This daughter of yours, she was a diclonius like me?"

"From what I gather, yes. Should it matter?" he asked.

Just then a far off explosion sounded and the building shook. Jonathan looked up and said, "It's time to go." He kept going down the stairs.

"Wait, you killed them for killing your daughter?" Yuki asked.

"Wouldn't you?"

"Yes, if I had one."

"There ya go."

Jonathan reached the fourth level and went back to the room he left the starved girl, Ayami in. Upon seeing him, Ayami's eyes lit up and with what looked like great effort, she lifted her arms to him.

"Time to go," he said, and scooped her up in a bride's carry. Passing his bag, he kicked a cylinder filled with liquid into the middle of the bag and stomped on it. The glass broke, and the bag began to smoke. Looking at Yuki he said, "Pick a direction, but you really don't want to be here in about two minutes."

Passing the now dead man chained to the wall, Jonathan left through his hole. It was a tight fit. Yuki helped him get Ayami through, then drifted down into the vault after them. They went down through the sluice in time to hear another far off explosion. By the sound of it, Jonathan guessed people tried to flee in the helicopter.

Hanging on the rope that dropped down to the submarine, Jonathan put his free arm around Ayami as Yuki passed her to him. Ayami held onto him with her arms and vectors.

"So, did you kill everyone?" Yuki asked.

"Not yet," Jonathan told her as he made sure no other boats or craft were around. "There is one man I won't kill ... but I will make him wish for death."

.

"The staff on the Island facility were slaughtered," the agent told Director Kakuzawa in his mainland office. "We are still counting the dead. Diclonius didn't do it, all our people died from gunshots, explosions or fire. The search teams are moving slow, someone left explosive traps inside. The computer systems are shut down. We guess the work of a very malevolent virus. The power is out, someone blew up the fuel tanks. The generators are ruined." Shaking his head sadly, he said, "The island looks like a war zone."

"I want to know who was behind it," Kakazuawa growled.

"So do the police. We have yet to figure out how the person got in and out. Whoever it was knew exactly how and when to strike. No motive has been found as to why this happened. The theory is that it had to be an inside job, at least three people being involved. All personnel files are being looked at."

"What of the diclonius we have left in custody, what is their status?"

"Unknown at this point. After a grenade killed a pair searchers when they turned a dead guard over, the bomb squad is now doing the search. It is slow moving, they found another bomb on the third level stairway, one man died, another is seriously injured from that blast – even with their bomb suits on. They should get to the fourth level some time late this afternoon."

"Dispose of the diclonius if they are not already dead. Keep me informed."

"Yes sir."

Director Kakuzawa was stunned at both the speed the ferocity of the attack. Even Lucy, who murdered people at will, had not caused such devastation. As a facility, the Island was no more. It would take too much rebuilding, both in materials and staff. Whoever did this wanted to shut him down. He wondered if maybe the military has their eyes on his project. They were the only ones he knew of that could strike so deadly and so fast.

.

"Aww wow, this chamber is sooo big!" Ayami said as she crawled out of the tent in the underground base. On her hands and knees, she saw Jonathan and Yuki sitting either side of a small grill that was putting delicious odors into the air. Yuki wore one of Jonathan's shirts, which looked like a short dress on her.

"Sleep well?" Jonathan asked.

"Can I have more food now?" Aymi asked eagerly.

"Sure, but take it easy," Jonathan reminded her. "Need help?" he asked.

"I can do it," Ayami said. Concentrating, she rose up with the help of her vectors and walked toward them. Jonathan put some grilled fish on a plate and handed it to her as she sat by him.

"Watch out for bones," he told her.

"So this will be our home now?" Yuki asked as she looked around.

"This would be a great home!" Ayami said. She took a bite of the fish, and her eyes went round. "This is delicious! It's just like you said, Jonathan! A nice place to live, good food, and that bed was really nice and warm. I'm going to like it here," she said in a run of words.

Jonathan shook his head. "This isn't a home, it's only a place to lie low for a while. Bad people will be looking for you soon, they won't find you here," he explained.

"Then why can't we live here?" Ayami asked with a curious look on her face.

Jonathan eyed her, then remembered that only thing she had ever seen was the inside of a cell. A huge cell with basic comforts and no one to torture you had to be paradise to a girl like Ayami. He desperately wanted to believe that Kaede had seen more than closed in walls before she died. "Because this place is still a dump. Believe me, there are better places to live," he told her.

"So, what do you have planned for us? Everyone wants something," Yuki asked as she eyed him.

Jonathan shrugged and said, "The only thing I want is to find out what happened to Kaede. Just stay here where you'll be safe."

"And you don't want to experiment on us?" Yuki asked, not quite believing him.

"Why would I do that?" Jonathan asked as he frowned at her.

"You don't want anything from us," Yuki said, not believing it.

"If live good lives and be decent people, that is all I would ask," Jonathan said evenly.

"You are strange," Yuki said.

"I still want to be your daughter," Ayami chimed in, then leaned into him. "You treat me really good."

"Before we decide that, I have to try to find your real families," Jonathan explained.

"We have families?" Ayami asked.

Jonathan nodded. "You were kidnapped just like my daughter was. I have someone looking for your parents now. As soon as I find them, I'll take you home."

"So, when you take us home, you'll live with us?" Ayami asked.

Jonathan laughed and said, "No, you'll have your own family to take care of you." He got up and gave his plate to Ayami. "I have to go get you some clothes, please stay here for your own safety," he told them both.

"You can go, I know you'll come back to us," Ayami said brightly.

Yuki watched Jonathan go, then asked, "How did his eyes get so round?"

.

Lucy sat with Kouta at a bus stop where they could see Jonathan's boat. Arms folded across her chest, Lucy kept her eyes on the boat and the dock.

"The boat hasn't left, and only that normal looking man has been there," Lucy grumbled.

"Could be it's not his boat," Kouta said. "Maybe he just borrowed it."

"Then that man must know him," Lucy said and got up. "Come on, let's go talk to him."

Kouta cringed. "After what happened yesterday? For a short guy he screams really loud."

"I'll explain who I am, come on," Lucy said, and grabbed his hand.

They walked down to the dock. On the boat, they noticed the middle aged man who'd ran them out, messing with something on the back deck.

"Hey! Would you talk to us?" Kouta asked, calling to him.

The man looked up and scowled at them. "You again! Get out of here before I call the police!"

Lucy held up her hands and said, "Wait! We're looking for Jonathan."

"There no Jonathan here!" the man barked.

"I need to talk to him," Lucy pleaded.

"MR. Nakamura, are those kids bothering you?" a man asked from a boat across the dock.

Kouta turned to see the man standing on his boat wore a badge on his shorts. Two other men came out wearing wet suits that said POLICE across the chest in large yellow letters.

"It's fine, we'll be going now," Kouta said nervously, and grabbed Lucy's arm. Quietly he said to her, "We better go before there's trouble."

"They are just confused," Mr. Nakamura called over to the police boat.

Walking down the dock, Kouta said, "I don't think Jonathan borrowed that boat with permission." Looking back, he saw the man was on his cell phone as he watched them walk away. "We better not come back."

.

Jonathan walked along in a rolling gait wearing his Hawaiian outfit, shirt, shorts and a wide straw hat and sunglasses. Although his stride suggested a carefree attitude, he was studying the docks carefully. The police dive team was on the dock almost directly across from Mr. N.'s boat. It looked like they were ready to leave. He hung back and admired the boats until they cast off and motored away.

Jonathan found Mr. N. inside the cabin on his computer. "You found Ayami and Yuki's parents yet?" he asked as he came in. He settled down across the table from Mr. N.

"No, and the cops were here getting ready for a dive. I heard them talking, they are going to check the waters around that island for any clues. I really hope you didn't drop anything," Mr. N replied.

"I'm positive I didn't, but I'll go made sure. Figure that old base is safe for another three, four days?" Jonathan asked in thought.

"Four max. Once they figure out you got there underwater, they will run straight for that old base."

"Three then," Jonathan concluded. I'll call the freighter. You have three days to find those girls' parents. If we don't find them by then, I'm shipping them out of here."

Mr. N. then brought up a list on his computer. "I went over the old lost child cases, nothing. Just like your daughter, the ones you found alive may have been reported dead at birth, or even erased from all systems. Finding their parents is not going to be easy."

Cracking a grin, Jonathan said, "If it was easy, I wouldn't need you. Keep at it. I'm going to get some clothes and supplies for our lost girls. Later, I'll look at paying Mr. Kakuzawa a visit." He got up to leave, then paused. "And keep looking for any reference to Kaede. I need to find out what happened to her."

Mr. N. looked at him sympathetically and said, "I'm afraid she'd dead, my friend. There were only two girls left at that place, and you have them both."

"Then I'm sure I can persuade Mr. Kakuzawa to fill in the details," Jonathan said with an evil grin.

Mr. N. watched him leave. Letting out a heavy sigh, he said to himself, "I am so glad I'm not Mr. Kakuzawa."

.

Jonathan looked over the rack of dresses. Trying to visualize one of the floral print dresses on Yuki, he noted a young woman nearby who looked like she had the same build.

"Excuse me, Ma'am," he said brightly. "Could you hold this dress up to yourself, I want to see if it fits my daughter."

The woman turned. Smiling at him, she took the dress and held it up to herself. "How old is your daughter?" she asked.

"Fifteen, she's about the same size as you, little shorter. The other is sixteen, she's a bit thinner."

"You haven't done this before, have you?" she asked wearing a smirk.

Jonathan shook his head. "I just wanted to get them something nice," he explained sheepishly.

The woman waved a hand at him. "Ohh, let me help you, this dress is for someone older. Come on over here," she said, and led him to another rack of brightly colored clothes.

She asked him a few questions, then made a few selections. As she got the dresses, she said, "Your Japanese is very good. Do you live here?"

"Used to. My wife was Japanese," Jonathan said, then looked off at nothing. "She told me I had to learn well, so I could understand her when she got really upset," he said with a small grin.

"Sounds like you have a nice family," the woman noted.

"Used to," Jonathan replied, then focused on the dress to change the subject. "Wow, this stands out, doesn't it?" he asked, taking in the bright stripes.

"Used to? You're not together any more?" she asked.

Jonathan offered her a brief smile and said, "It's complicated."

"Well, I'm sure your girls will like these, you can return them if they don't fit," the woman said with her smile.

Jonathan took the dresses with a "Thank you," and headed for the counter.

Yuka continued to do her shopping, happy she could be of help. Not long after the man left, Nana and Mayu came in. Bouncing to a stop by Yuka, Nana said, "We just saw the idiot... I mean, Lucy's father. He was leaving the store."

"He was here?" Yuka asked, and looked outside.

"I'm sure it was him too, who else would wear a crazy looking shirt like that?" Mayu added.

"Show me," Yuka told them, then followed them out to the sidewalk. They went out, but the man she had talked to was gone.

"Excuse me, you have to pay for those," a harsh voice said from behind Yuka.

Yuka blushed, "So sorry," she offered and went back in the store.

.

Jonathan went to the magazine stand across the street from the government building. He paid for a couple manga's, and exchanged a large wad of yen for a used cell phone the man put out for sale as he approached. Once he was on his way down the street, he opened the cell phone and looked at the pictures. Each one was time coded, and showed Kakuzawa entering and leaving the building. As before, the man moved like clockwork, keeping tight to his schedule. Very stupid for someone who was being hunted. The limo he arrived and left in was the same one. Jonathan figured there had to be a catch, this was going to be too easy.

Jonathan returned to the base. Upon seeing the new clothes, Ayami stripped and wanted Jonathan to dress her. He did, noting he had forgotten underwear for them. Oblivious to this, both girls seemed very happy with their new clothes. The takeout food he'd brought was met with equal enthusiasm. After the 'model show', they sat down and all but inhaled every bit of food he brought.

Ayami, who sat by Jonathan in front of the metal shed, turned and threw her arms around him. "This is great, you are really nice!" she exclaimed as she she hugged him tightly.

"I'm only being decent to you," Jonathan replied.

Watching him, Yuki said, "I still haven't figured out what you want. You must want something from us."

"I already told you."

"I don't believe you."

"I don't care what you believe," Jonathan countered.

Jonathan's cell phone rang. He opened it and said, "Jonathan ... Good work, got a phone number? ... thanks." He hung up, then punched in a number.

"Who do you talk to on that?" Ayami asked.

"A man who just found Yuki's parents," he replied. He listen for someone to pick up. Upon hearing a male voice, he asked, "Mr. Yamakura? ... you have a daughter named Yuki? ... No sir, she's not dead. She's right here. Would you like to talk to her... hello?"

Seeing Yuki watching him, he redialed the number. Upon the male voice answering, he said, "Mr. Yamakura, this is no joke, please listen... hello? Damn it!"

Yuki laid a hand on his arm. "Enough, I doubt I'll be wanted there," she said blank faced.

Jonathan studied her then asked, "All right, what happened?"

Yuki drew her legs up to her chest and hugged herself. "I was five. I'd found I could do things, hold things without actually touching them. It was my secret. I'd pull pranks. Hide things on my dad, get the crackers I like from the high cupboard. Things like that. Then one day mom was mad at me, I forget why. She yelled at me, so I yelled back. I called her a name, she slapped me. I was so angry I slapped her back with the hands no one could see." Yuki's face crimped up. "I ... didn't mean to hit her so hard, her face ... came off. She bled so much, I couldn't even look at her...she died bleeding on the floor," Squeezing her eyes shut, a tear ran down Yuki's cheek. "Dad came home and I tried to apologize, but he became scared of me and ran out. Later, some men came, they shot me with a dart. The next thing I knew, I was chained to a wall." Yuki wept into her knees. "Mom, I'm so sorry!" she cried.

"I'm sorry too," Ayami offered sadly.

Jonathan let her cry for a while, then asked, "What do you want to do? Want me to talk to him?"

Yuki shook her head at looked up at him. "No, please leave him alone, he's suffered enough. I'll stay with you, I'll do anything you want me too."

Jonathan frowned at her. "You could have saved me a whole lot of trouble if you would have told me that before I searched for him."

"I'm sorry, I hate to even think about ... that time."

Turning to Ayami, Jonathan asked, "Is there anything you're not telling me?"

Ayami shook her head and confidently said, "I don't know anything."

Somehow, Jonathan had no trouble believing that.

.

Kouta watched the news that showed an aerial view of an island that had smoldering buildings on it. The reported was talking about an accident that took the lives of many people.

Beside him, Lucy said, "I don't think that was an accident. That was where they held me. I hope my father got out of there all right."

"You think he did that?" Kouta asked.

"He said he was going there. Looks like he got upset when he didn't find me," Lucy said.

"We're home, and we got new clothes!" Nana cried as she ran in. Beaming a smile at Lucy, she said, "And guess who we saw!"

Coming in behind her, Yuka explained, "Your father was in the store buying girls' clothes. From what he said, you have sisters."

"Where was this?" Lucy asked as she stood up.

"A while ago, we saw him coming out," Nana said.

"Why didn't you stop him?" Lucy cried.

"We told Yuka," Nana said defensively, "Besides, she talked to him, not us."

Lucy glared at Yuka. Yuka quickly said, "I didn't know who he was. He'd left by the time Mayu and Nana told me. Don't worry, I'm sure he'll be back."

Folding her arms across her chest, Lucy stated, "I'm going back to that boat."

.

Mr. N. lounged in the cabin on his boat with his glass of wine. He had a couple possibles for Ayami's parents, but he was done for the night. Even Jonathan had to realize he needed rest sometimes.

A heavy knock sounded at the cabin door. Mr. N. called out "Go away, I'll get to it in the morning."

The cabin door exploded inward. Mr. N. sat up as pieces bounced past him. The girl that had come earlier walked down the steps eyeing him. He grabbed his cell phone and said, "Hey get out of here before I call the cops!"

The cell phone was jerked out of his hand, and flew over to her. She caught it and asked in a heavy tone, "Where is my father?"

"Who? Look lady..."

"Jonathan!" she barked. "Where is he?"

As what just happened settled into his mind, he asked, "Who are you?"

"I'm Kaede. Where is Jonathan?"

Suddenly, he remembered her face from the wanted pictures. This was the killer, the wanted and dangerous Lucy. "I thought your name was Yuka?" he asked weakly.

Lucy gripped his arms with her vectors. "Tell me where he is, or I WILL rip your arms off," she said staring malevolently at him.

Swallowing in fear, Mr. N. said, "All right, all right! He's in an old underground base, I know about where it is, but only he knows how to get in and out. Look, give me the phone back, I'll call him."

Lucy let him go and tossed the phone back to him. "Do it. Do anything to piss me off, and it will be the last thing you ever do," she warned.

"Like father, like daughter," Mr. N. mumbled and called Jonathan. He let the phone ring until it went to voice mail. Watching Kaede, he said, "Jonathan, Kaede is here, we're on my boat. Call back as soon as you can, she's not in a good mood." He then held the phone back out to her and said, "I tried. I have no idea why he doesn't answer, that's not like him."

.

Jonathan felt the cell phone vibrate in his pocket. He didn't dare answer it. The two policemen who were coming down the corridor into the underground base were close enough to hear. Flashlights out, they scanned the walls and peeked into old doorways. He thumbed off the safety on his silenced pistol, hoping he would not have to kill them.


	3. Chapter 3

The policemen scanned the walls of the old underground base as they walked along.

"Think kids got in here?" one asked.

"Probably. That gate needs to be replaced, or better yet just wall in the entrance," the other said.

The first one chuckled, "If we can get public works off their butts to do the job."

Hearing the sound of something rolling towards them, one officer shone a flashlight on the floor. The light hit the grenade as it rolled to a stop just past them. With yelps of surprise, they jumped to the sides and scurried for cover.

Jonathan shot out of the alcove and punched one policeman hard as he tried to take cover. He dove across the passage and grabbed the other policeman, and threw him into the wall by his partner. Before he could recover, Jonathan hit him, knocking him out.

Looking down on the unconscious men, Jonathan mussed, "Well I guess it's time to move on." He picked up the fake grenade then tied the policemen up.

.

Packing the sub should have been easy, since Jonathan had used most of his explosives. Yuki and Ayami sat on those crates now filled with their clothes. Jonathan crammed everything in and made sure he cleared the dock, then climbed into his sub.

"Jonathan, are we going to another nice big chamber?" Ayami asked from her cramped space.

"I was thinking of a nice boat where you girls could get some sunshine," Jonathan mussed.

"Why are we leaving?" Yuki asked.

"Someone found us. It's no longer safe here," Jonathan said as he aimed for the underwater entrance. He opened the ballast valves ad the sub slipped below the water.

"Can't we just kill them, like you did before?" Yuki asked.

"That would only bring more. Besides, those weren't bad men. If they found us though, the bad men aren't far behind," Jonathan explained.

"Hey Jonathan?" Ayami asked sheepishly. "I've thought much about this. I don't want you to find my parents. I want to stay with you. I mean, you can have more than one daughter, right?"

"Maybe Jonathan wants a wife instead," Yuki mussed. "There should be a wife, a mother for your daughters, right Jonathan?"

Jonathan winced. "I think you girls are a little too young to be wives. And I do think you should both go home to your real families."

"Mine doesn't want me," Yuki stated.

"And what if mine don't want me either?" Ayami asked fearfully. "I do really want to stay with you. Can't we just live together?"

"Ayami, you should give your family a chance," Jonathan told her.

"Well, I am staying with Jonathan, however he wants me," Yuki said to Ayami. "But you should give your parents a chance."

"Yuki, what do you know about wives and mothers?" Ayami asked.

Yuki frowned, then said, "Mothers and fathers sleep together in the same bed, they kiss and hug, and make children."

"So, we can do that with Jonathan, can't we?" Ayami asked. "It would be nice and warm if we all slept together," she said with a wide grin.

"I'm not going to sleep with you," Jonathan said abruptly. "There are things you girls don't understand about ... mothers and fathers." As he spoke, he began to turn red.

"Like what?" Ayami asked him.

Jonathan scrunched around in his seat. Why did it suddenly feel so uncomfortable? "There's adult things ... grown up things you need to learn about," he said haltingly.

"Can't you teach us?" Ayami asked innocently.

"Damn, it's hot in here," Jonathan grumbled. He should have put air conditioning in this thing.

Yuki leaned over to see the side of Jonathan's face. "Why are your ears so red?"

"Because it's hot in here," Jonathan said sternly.

"I don't think so. In fact I feel chilled." Ayami said, and snuggled closer to Yuki.

"How can we learn if you don't teach us?" Yuki asked.

"You should know, you did have a daughter, right? So just tell us about it," Ayami said in her innocent voice.

Jonathan squirmed in place, and said, "Another woman should be teaching you about that stuff. I'm a guy ... and another woman should teach you."

Yuki stared at him. "What did you say? I couldn't understand any of it."

"That sounded funny, do it again," Ayami said with a giggle.

Jonathan then realized he'd spoken in English. Trying to focus on speaking so they could understand, he said, "Only a woman should teach you ... not me."

Ayami frowned at him. "But we trust you, so it's OK for you to teach us."

Jonathan checked the GPS, why was this short trip taking so damn long? He bumped up the speed as much as he dared and still get them there before the batteries ran out. To himself he said, "Aren't we there yet?"

.

"We found their exit," the agent said to Director Kakuzawa. "Whoever this was left through a hole into the drainage system on the fourth sub-level. They punched a hole in the wall from the last containment chamber to escape. The cyanide we found in the air was most likely a delaying tactic to keep anyone from following them. They also took the diclonius with them. I have to agree with the police, this had to be an inside job. No one else could possibly know the layout of our facility so well."

"Who are we missing?" Director Kakuzawa asked.

The agent shrugged. "All island personnel alive or dead have been accounted for. There were no flights to or from the island in the last few days, except for supplies."

"The military must have hidden some men on the supply helicopter. The purpose of the raid had to have been to steal our diclonius," Director Kakuzawa concluded. "Keep digging, we need to have proof who is responsible."

"Yes sir. We're questioning the survivors, most of them have recovered enough to speak. So far, we have no further clues. Not even a description of any of the assailants."

"Keep working on it."

.

Lucy came awake upon feeling something solid bump the boat. In the other seat at the small table, Mr. N. rolled his head and tried to get comfortable as he slept on. The bump was followed by a scrapping. Lucy stood up and looked through a porthole at the dock. She didn't see anything, though she did sense other diclonius nearby.

Walking through the debris of the cabin door, Lucy moved to go up on deck to investigate, and a form filled the doorway.

"Yuka, right? How are you?" Jonathan asked as came down the steps, wearing a smile.

"Jonathan!" Lucy cried. Excited, she gripped his shirt and quickly said, "I'm so sorry I lied to you! My name isn't Yuka, It's KAEDE! I was afraid you'd died going to the island to rescue me."

Looking at her intently, Jonathan asked, "Kaede, it's really you?"

Lucy nodded, then found herself in a tight hug.

"I KNEW you were alive, I just knew it!" Jonathan said with a laugh as he hugged her.

"I'm sorry for lying to you," she said again.

"You didn't know who I was, you were protecting yourself. That's my girl!" Jonathan said, giving her an extra squeeze.

Mr. N. groaned his way awake, turning his puffy eyes to the joyful reunion before him. "Ahh, Jonathan, it's about time," he grumbled.

A broad smile on his face as he hugged Lucy, Jonathan said, "Good job, N, you get a bonus for this! Now there's just a few other small matters to deal with."

"Ohhh, I love happy hugs!" Ayami cried as she raced down the steps and hugged both Jonathan and Lucy.

"Who's this?" Lucy asked, eyeing her.

"One of the small matters," Jonathan explained. To Mr. N., he said, "I need a safe place for these girls until you find Ayami's parents."

"I'm Ayami, who are you?" Ayami asked Lucy cheerfully.

"Kaede. There's another one here too," Lucy noted.

"Yuki is watching the boat road," Ayami said.

"Boat road?" Lucy asked.

"The dock," Jonathan explained. "I found these girls chain to walls on that island. I wasn't going to leave them there. Kaede, I'm so glad you escaped that place. Do you have a good home now?"

Lucy nodded. "Yes, and we have room for Ayami and Yuki. Do you know where the Maple Inn is?" she asked.

With a smirk, Jonathan asked, "The place where Yuka lives?"

The way he asked it made Lucy giggle. "Yes, the real Yuka does live there. Nana and Mayu said you were there," she said, then she eyed him. "Wait, I thought your speech was not very good?"

"A trick to help people be more at ease," Jonathan explained. "Sometimes, tricks and diversions work better at getting results than straight talk or force."

"Nana thinks you're an idiot." Lucy noted.

"Then Nana will not feel threatened, right?" Jonathan countered, sporting a grin.

Lucy returned his grin. "I have a smart dad," she said proudly.

"If you could help your smart dad out, and take these girls home with you, I'd really appreciate it. Don't forget hats."

"You're not coming?" Lucy asked in surprise.

Giving Lucy a pat on the back, Jonathan said, "I still have someone I need to talk with first. Don't worry, it shouldn't take long."

.

Kouta awoke to someone shaking him.

"Kouta, wake up!" Nana said as she continued to shake his shoulder.

"Wha... I'm up, stop it," he complained.

Eyed round, Nana pointed and said, "I thought I sensed Lucy coming home, but there's three of them!"

Kouta ignored Nana's loose nightshirt and sat up. "Three?" he asked. "So it's not Lucy."

"I don't know, but it might be more trouble, like when they brought that girl to kill me," Nana said nervously.

Kouta got up and put his pants on. "OK, stay inside Nana, I'll go see what's going on," he told her.

Stiffening herself, Nana said, "If they are here for me, I'll lead them away." She turned to leave.

Kouta grabbed her arm, which popped off. He then grabbed her shoulder and said, "No, stay inside, I'll go see. If they are after you, I'll scream a warning so you can run."

Nana took her arm back and put it in place. "Kouta, I don't want them to hurt you," she said in a worried tone.

Offering her a smile, Kouta said, "Same goes for you. Stay here."

.

Kouta went out to the entryway, not sure what to expect. From outside, Wanta barked.

A strange girl's voice exclaimed, "That's a Wanta? Ohhh he's so cute!"

Kouta opened the door, sure Nana's fears were unfounded. Coming towards him, Lucy walked between two other girls.

"Kouta, met Yuki, and Ayami. Dad wants them to stay with us for a while," Lucy said cheerfully. She then pointed to him and said, "And this is Kouta."

Yuki offered Kouta a normal, "Greetings."

Ayami gapped at him with a big smile, and ran over to ask in a run of words, "You're Kouta? You slept with Kaede right? Tell me, what did you do, was it fun?"

"Huh?" Kouta asked as he blushed.

"Ayami, you don't need to talk about that!" Lucy snapped as her own face reddened.

From behind him, Yuka asked, "Kouta, did you ... sleep with Lucy?"

Kouta spun in place. Yuka eyed him as she balled her fists. He was about to get pummeled. Quickly he explained, "We didn't do anything really, it wasn't like that," and rubbed the back of his head.

Ayami piped up with, "Oh no, he didn't sleep with Lucy, he slept with Kaede!"

Yuki came up behind Ayami and clapped a hand over her mouth. "I think you should be quiet now, that girl looks pissed."

"Kouta?" Yuka asked in a growl.

Lucy ran up and stood in front of Kouta. Staring back at Yuka, she said, "Kouta told you, nothing happened. I just didn't want to be alone. Don't you dare hit him."

Yuka eyes became watery, then she fled, wailing out a sob.

"Aww man," Kouta let out with a sigh.

"Kaede, where does she go when she is upset?" Yuki asked.

"Her room."

Ayami frowned as Yuki went off the way Yuka had gone. Turning to Kaede and Kouta, she asked, "So, is sleeping together fun?"

"Why are you so interested in what we do?" Lucy asked.

"Because I want to sleep with Jonathan!" Ayami announced.

.

Yuki followed the sound of the sobs, and discovered Yuka in her room. Walking in, she sat down near Yuka as Yuka held her face in her hands and cried.

"I didn't get your name," Yuki said.

Yuka looked up and gasped. "Why did you follow me?"

"I am curious. You seem very upset that Kouta and Kaede shared a bed. Why?"

"Don't you know?" Yuka asked heavily.

Yuki shook her head and explained, "I asked Jonathan about it. He became all red in the face and said another woman should teach us about those things. I've been kept chained to a wall for a very long time. I know nothing about daughters or mothers. Like just now, if Kouta and Kaede shared a bed, why did you get so upset?"

Eyeing her, Yuka said, "You really don't have a clue, do you?"

Yuki shook her head again. "No, I don't. Jonathan said he wouldn't sleep with us, that we're too young. Why would our age matter?"

Yuka wiped the tears from her face. "Jonathan is right," she said. "And sleeping with someone is something you only do when you love them. When they are the only one for you. When you feel so close to them that ... that it only seems natural to share a bed with them and have sex."

Yuki nodded in understanding. She then asked, "What is sex?"

.

"Aww wow! Nana, this bath feels soooo nice! I wish Jonathan was here!" Ayami's voice cried out from down the hall.

"Yeah, isn't it great? But you only bath with other girls. That's what Yuka says." Nana replied just as loudly.

Kouta smirked as he helped Mayu and Lucy get breakfast ready for the table that now was getting too small. "It seems Ayami and Nana are getting along well. I wonder what Yuki and Yuka are doing in her room?" he asked as he glanced down the hall.

Lucy shrugged and said, "As long as it keeps Yuka from smacking you, I wouldn't worry about it."

"Yeah, she does get really upset," Kouta mussed.

"That's because she loves you. She wants to be your wife, she always has," Lucy noted.

Kouta paused and gapped at Lucy. "I'm ... not ready for anything like that. And how would you know?" he asked.

"I feel the same," Lucy said with a sad grin. "And when the time does come, I'd rather you pick me." A flush came to her face as she said, "I'd do anything for you." She then picked up a few plates and took them into the dinning room.

.

Yuka and Yuka sat facing each other in Yuka's room.

"But, if two girls really did love the same man, what would be wrong with both of them being his wives?" Yuki asked.

Yuka frowned at her and said, "You don't understand yet, but when you meet the man who you want, you won't want to share him with anyone. You will want to be his ... everything. He will be your whole world, and you will be his."

Holding up a finger, Yuki said, "OK, so you want Kouta for yourself. When he spends time with Kaede, you feel hurt."

"Yes, I want him spending time with me," Yuka agreed.

"But if he ignored Kaede, wouldn't she feel hurt then?" Yuki asked.

Yuka tipped her head to the side and mussed, "I suppose so, but that can't be helped."

"That doesn't seem right," Yuki said. "I'm sure Jonathan wouldn't want either of us to feel left out. I think the same goes for Kouta. He wasn't happy that you were upset."

"He didn't come after me, either," Yuka said, which brought fresh tears to her eyes.

Eyeing Yuka, Yuki said, "I think you've had it too easy."

"What?"

"When Jonathan freed me from the chains, I thought it was a new trick, some kind of experiment they hadn't tried on me yet. When I realized it wasn't, I was ... very grateful for Jonathan. I know Ayami feels the same. If Jonathan said it was OK, I would eagerly get in bed with him even if Ayami was right there. I'm sure she would be too if he allowed us," Yuki said, then got up. Shaking her head, she added, "You are selfish. You'd let Kaede cry just so you could have Kouta to yourself. I would never hurt Ayami like that, I know the suffering she's gone through. I think Ayami would say the same for me."

A knock sounded at the door, then Mayu peeked her head in. "Yuka, Yuki? Breakfast is ready."

"Breakfast?" Yuki asked.

"Yes, food in the morning is called breakfast," Mayu said with a giggle.

"Good, I'm hungry!" Yuki said with a smile. She then asked, "Is Jonathan here yet?"

"No, he hasn't come," Mayu replied.

"I wonder where he is?" Yuki mussed.

.

Director Kakuzawa opened the door to his office. Striding in, he noticed his chair was facing the window. As he approached, the chair spun to face him, showing a man holding a pistol with a silencer on it, aimed at him.

Jonathan grew an unpleasant grin and said, "Let's talk."

"Who are you?" Director Kakuzawa demanded as he faced down the man with the gun.

"A pissed off father," Jonathan replied. Shifting his aim, he shot Kakuzawa in the foot.

Kakuzawa jumped, then staggered back. He pulled his own gun. Jonathan shot him in the elbow, making him drop it. Crying out in pain, Kakuzawa backpedaled into a wall.

Jonathan got up and walked towards him. "Tell me about Kaede," he said heavily.

Gripping his elbow, Kakuzawa glared at him and growled out, "Who is Kaede?"

"My daughter. You've been calling her 'Lucy'," Jonathan replied in the same tone.

"The queen has a father, how quaint. Tell me, is she still alive?" Kakuzawa asked in a sneer.

"Not due to any of the fine treatment you have given her. Why did you take her?"

"You stupid man!" Kakuzawa growled. "Lucy is the queen, the first diclonius who can bear children. She will populate the world with her kind and kill anyone who gets in her way."

"That kinda makes me feel proud," Jonathan said, then shot Kakuzawa in the other foot.

Kakuzawa dropped in place, and let out a scream of both pain and frustration. "You fool! If she's alive, tell me where she is!"

Jonathan shook his head. With a chuckle, he said, "You really don't know when to give up, do you? I suppose it's pointless to talk to you."

"If you're going to kill me, then do it!" Kakuzawa spat.

"Oh no, you don't get off that easy, like the ones on your island did." Jonathan said as he squatted down in front of the Director. "You killed my wife and stole my daughter. She suffered a long time because of you. You'll do the same."

"You're insane!" Kakuzawa roared.

"Nutty as a fruitcake," Jonathan agreed. He then shot the director's knees. Ignoring his howls of pain, Jonathan shot his other elbow, then his shoulder joints. Timing the director's rolls on the floor as he screamed in agony, Jonathan shot him on the edge of his temple, taking out both eyes. Another shot to the side of his Adam's apple turned Kakuzawa's screams into hoarse cries spitting blood.

"Have a fun life," Jonathan said, then opened the window and dropped out onto the ground.

A moment later a secretary came in to see what the commotion was about. Seeing the blood and her boss withering in pain on the floor, her screams sounded more loud and clearly that the wet gurgling cries of Kakuzawa.

Jonathan made it away from the building and walked down the street as police cars raced past him, sirens screaming. Pulling out his cell phone, he connected to the secure line to his bank in Japan, and transferred the agreed amount to Mr. N., plus a 500K yen bonus. Next he created an account for Kaede and deposited 4 million yen into it. He then called Mr. N.

After the voice message, Jonathan said, "Thanks for the beer. I paid your delivery fee. Been good dealing with you. Just don't forget that last bottle." He hung up, Mr. N. would know that his message meant the job was finished, except for finding Ayami's parents.

Jonathan walked along the road by the shore, pleased with himself. He'd found his daughter at last, and the man who had taken her wouldn't be kidnapping anyone else for a good, long time. Just one last thing he had to do. As he walked, he head a police car race up behind him. What surprised him was when it slammed on it's brakes and screeched to a stop. He turned to see a pair of officers jump out, their guns pointed at him.

"Don't move, hands in the air!" one yelled.

"That was fast," Jonathan grumbled, and did as they ordered. As they approached him, he pointed down to his left side. "Gun's over here, inside leg just below my knee. My wallet with ID is in my right back pocket."

"Don't MOVE!" one officer said as the other disarmed him and took his wallet.

"Don't plan on it," he told them.

Jonathan was cuffed and pushed into the back seat. One officer called in as the other drove the to the station. "Here we go," Jonathan mumbled to himself.

.

The dinning table was full. Lucy sat at one end, Yuki on the other. Yuka sat beside Kouta, strategically placing herself between Kouta and Lucy. On the other side, Mayu sat beside Nana, who was scrunched in between Mayu and Ayami.

"This is really good! You made this Mayu?" Ayami asked happily.

"She did! Mayu is a genius, isn't she?" Nana happily asked.

"She sure is! This is even better than the food Jonathan gave us," Ayami heartily agreed.

"It is very good, thank you, Mayu," Yuki added.

Blushing from the praise, Mayu said sheepishly, "Yuka showed me how, I just did what she showed me."

"Then YUKA is the genius!" Ayami cried happily.

"Kaede, did Jonathan say when he was coming here?" Yuki asked.

"He said he had to go talk to someone first," Lucy told her.

Frowning, Yuki mussed aloud, "I wonder if that is like the 'searching for you', he did on that island."

"What do you mean?" Kouta asked.

Yuki shrugged and said, "He thought Kaede was dead, so he killed everyone."

Yuka's eyes went round. "He did that?"

Yuki nodded. "He told me that's what they deserve for killing his daughter. The booms were still going off when we left."

"You think he's after someone else to kill?" Nana asked.

"Jonathan said he would not kill that man," Ayami said confidently.

Yuki eyed Ayami. "That's right, but he did say he would make than man wish he were dead. The way he said it, I don't think that 'talk' is going to be a very nice one."

"Is this proper breakfast conversation?" Kouta asked with a wince.

"Did he say who, or where?" Lucy asked.

Yuki shook her head and said, "He keeps stuff like that to himself. Don't worry, I've seen Jonathan in action, I'm sure he'll be fine."

.

Jonathan sat alone in an interrogation room. Cuffed to the edge of the table, he knew the long wait and tight cuffs were designed to make him crack. He didn't bother trying to move, but ran over in his head where he'd left the sub and mentally inventoried the equipment he had left. Going over what he had in his apartment, he was positive nothing was there to lead anyone to the Maple Inn where Kaede was staying. After what seemed like forever, the door opened and a plain clothes inspector walked in with a folder.

Slapping the folder on the table, then inspector eyed his cuffs. "Those look a little tight, want me to loosen them?" he asked in English.

"Suit yourself," Jonathan replied in Japanese.

The inspector grinned, then took out a photo of Director Kakuzawa before Jonathan had rearranged his life. "You don't like this guy do you?"

"Any reason I should?"

"You tried to kill him. We have the gun we found on you, the bullets in Mr. Kakuzawa match your gun. It's an iron clad case of attempted murder," the inspector stated.

Jonathan shrugged and said, "Never meant to kill him. In fact, I'd be upset if he did die."

The inspector raised an eyebrow. "Is that so? You shot him ten times. What did this man ever do to you?"

Looking the inspector squarely in the eye, he said, "He killed my wife and kidnapped my daughter. He held my daughter in a steel box for many years before she managed to escape. If he dies, then he won't suffer enough."

"If he did those things, why didn't you go to the police?"

"I did." Jonathan stated. "Supposedly, a thief killed my wife, Azusa. All records of my daughter were erased, like she'd never even been born. The police at that time blew me off, and suggested I get counseling. It's taken me seventeen years, but I found my daughter and man responsible for kidnapping her and killing my Azusa."

"And you didn't come to us with what you found?"

"Why?" Jonathan asked harshly. "To get blown off again? To have more records erased? Check that guy out closely, he's killed hundreds of girls, and tortured nearly all of them. He's gotten away with it with help from your government. Whether you like it or not, I stopped a madman you couldn't touch."

"So now he's part of a conspiracy?" the inspector asked.

"Didn't say that. I doubt your government knows the things he was up to. He was playing them for fools, that is unless your government condones the mass slaughter of little girls. Go check my apartment, I have copies of all the evidence there. I'll give you the address if you want. My keys are in my possessions folder, feel free to use them. " Jonathan said evenly.

Tapping the picture, the inspector asked, "Do you know who this man is?"

"Only enough to get to him. And please make sure the doctors are able to stabilize him. I'd hate for all my effort to go to waste."

"So, you admit to shooting this man?"

"Sure do. Like I said though, I aimed carefully to be sure he doesn't die."

The inspector put the picture back into his folder. Getting up, he asked, "And what do you get from shooting this man?"

"Knowledge he won't be killing any more little girls."

"Where's your daughter?"

"Safe."

"Unless we can talk to her, your story is not very believable."

Jonathan shrugged and said, "Oh well. I'll give you any evidence you want, but no one touches my daughter again."

"You'll rot in jail."

"I could use a vacation."

The inspector eyed him briefly, then left. Jonathan settled in place for another long wait.

.

"Apparently, Jonathan knows nothing about underwear," Yuka said with a huff as she looked over Yuki and Ayami's clothes.

Ayami giggled. "Under, where?" she asked, and giggled again.

"Yuka means this," Nana said and lifted up her shirt to show her bra with the tiny flower on it. "And these," Nana then pulled her shorts down to show her panties.

Kouta rounded the corner saying, "We're running out of ..." He stopped short and gapped at Nana's display. Turning red-faced, he quickly spun around and cried, "What are you doing?"

"Showing Ayami what underwear is," Nana said defensively.

"I'll ... come back later," Kouta stuttered, and strode away.

Noting this, Yuki asked, "Why did he get red faced?"

With a grumble, Yuka said, "He's just being a pervert."

"What's a pervert?" Ayami asked.

Yuka got Nana to put her shirt down and her shorts up, then said, "Someone who likes to peep on girls."

Yuki frowned and said, "I don't think you're right, It looked like he wasn't expecting to see Nana like that. Kouta turned around fast when he saw her. You are teaching us wrong, Yuka."

"So this thing where only one girl can sleep with Jonathan must be wrong too," Ayami concluded.

Yuka gapped at her and said, "No that is not wrong Both of you are too young for that anyway."

"Can we believe anything she says?" Ayami asked Yuki.

Yuki shook her head, and said, "No, I think she has everything backwards. Let's go talk to Kaede. If she knows, she won't lie to us."

As they walked out, Ayami asked Yuki, "So if she doesn't know, who do we ask then?"

Confidently, Yuki said, "If Kaede doesn't know, we'll ask Kouta. We'll have him tell us what guys like."

Yuka let out a huff, and said, "Fine, go ask the pervert!"

.

Mr. N. sat in a corner booth at a restaurant across from a man in a brown suit. They sipped coffee and spoke in low voices.

"What's he up to now?" the brown suited man asked.

Mr. N. shrugged. "Think he tells me everything? My guess is he wants everyone to know who fucked Kakuzawa up."

"You have the location of those dicloni, why not give it to me?"

Mr. N. barked a laugh and said, "I'm not stupid, that's why. If Johnathan ever found out I gave away the location of his daughter, I'd end up like Kakuzawa, or worse."

"He's in jail."

"You really think that matters to a guy like him? For whatever reason, he's there because he wants to be."

"You make this Jonathan sound like some kind of super ninja."

"No, he's just one cold and calculating son-of-a-bitch when he wants to be. He's smart too, plans things far in advance. My guess is that he has one last target," Mr. N. explained.

"An assassination?"

"Doubt it. He's too smart for that. Taking my best guess, he wants to go to trial. That would be the best way for him to spread word about what they did to his daughter. The media will have a field day with exposing government sanctioned kidnappings and murders of children."

The man in the brown suit let out a sigh. "And I suppose he has evidence?" he asked.

"Multiple copies, and all the data from that island before he wrecked it. They'll take him to court, and he'll break it off in their ass."

"We can't let that happen."

Mr. N. shrugged again, and said, "Then you'd better kill him, if you can. Of course, I'm sure his daughter will come looking for you then. You know his daughter, don't you? The one your people called 'Lucy'?" Lifting his cup in a salute, he added, "Good luck telling her why you killed her daddy."

The man on the brown suit raised his hands as if in surrender. "OK, you tell me, what do we do about this? We've got at least three dicloni on the loose, one a known murderer. We also have a sadistic maniac protecting them and set to expose some very nasty secrets. Whatever we do, it can't be public."

"Ever watch 'The Godfather'? Make him an offer he can't refuse," Mr. N. said with a wink.


	4. Chapter 4

"Shouldn't he have been here by now?" Lucy asked as she sat leaning back in the doorway of the Maple Inn, watching out the gate.

Sitting beside her, Yuki shrugged. "Who knows? He goes off, he comes back. I can't believe he'd forget about us."

"He could have run into trouble," Lucy mussed.

Yuki cast a glance at her and asked, "Hey Kaede, would you think of sharing Kouta with another girl?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Just wondering if I'm strange for wanting to share Jonathan with Ayami."

Lucy sat up and eyed her. "What have you been doing with my father?" she asked.

"Nothing yet. I was just wondering if you would share Kouta with another girl. Say for instance, Yuka. You all live together anyway, so what would be wrong with sleeping together?" YUki asked innocently.

Lucy didn't answer. She stared at Yuki in disbelief.

"If you got along with Yuka, wouldn't that be OK?" Yuki asked.

Lucy stared at her a bit longer. "Did you get hit in the head a lot from those experiments?" Lucy finally asked.

"Some," Yuki admitted.

"It shows. How about thinking about something useful, like where my father might have gone."

"Lu ... I mean Kaede, you have a phone call," YUka said from behind them.

Lucy looked back to see Yuka standing behind them, wringing her hands nervously. "Dad?" she asked.

"I don't know, he won't give his name. He only said he has news for you, and to please not rip his arms off," Yuka explained.

Lucy got up and went to the phone. Picking it up, she asked, "Are you the man from the boat?"

"Yes, the guy with the boat you broke the cabin door on. Look, they have your father in jail. He got caught mutilating someone ... who deserved it. Don't worry, they won't hurt him, I just thought you should know. Sit tight and as soon as there is news, I'll call you if he doesn't."

The phone went to dial tone.

Lucy set the phone down and stared at Yuka, who was watching her. "Where is this place called 'jail'?"

Slowly, Yuka said, "That is a general term, it could be any number of police stations, or one of the prisons. Is that where your father is?"

"That man said they have him in jail. Do they hut people in jail?" Lucy asked in an even tone.

"The police do restrain them, but they don't hurt anyone," Yuka said. Looking at Lucy pleadingly, she said, "Please, don't try to go there, let me or Kouta try to find out what happened."

Lucy noted concern in Yuka's eyes. They had been rivals for Kouta's affections for as long as she could remember, why would Yuka be concerned about her now? "Are you worried about me?" she asked.

Yuka nodded. "Kouta would be very upset if something happened to you, and I'm sure your father would be also," she replied.

"But not you," Lucy concluded.

Yuka frowned at her. "Of course I would! I thought that went without saying."

Deep in thought about what Yuki was asking her, Lucy said, "I really wonder who Kouta will pick? It can't be easy for him. Sometimes I wonder if he doesn't pick either of us because the other will be hurt."

"What are you saying?" Yuka asked, watching her intently.

"I don't know, just a thought," Lucy mussed.

"But you won't go out looking for your father, right?" Yuka asked tentatively.

"That man said someone will send news, so for now, I'll wait." Lucy told her. Lucy eyed Yuka and said, "I just wonder, are we being fair to Kouta?" She wandered off, leaving Yuka confused.

.

Jonathan laid on the bunk in his cell, getting some much needed rest. His 'professional criminal' roommate lay on his bunk, knocked cold. Jonathan wasn't a 'bitch', and he showed the punk 'what he could do' about it, and fuck how many tattoos the punk had.

The cell door slammed open. Jonathan opened an eye to see a policeman looking down on him.

"Get up, you're wanted in interrogation." the officer growled.

Jonathan sat up on his elbows. "If you're talking to him, he tripped and bumped his head on the wall a few times. Damndest thing I ever saw."

"You, let's go," the officer said, pointing at Jonathan.

Jonathan hoisted himself up and let the officer put cuffs on him. He was lead to what looked more like an office where a brown suited man sat behind a desk. Just outside the door, the officer took the cuffs off and motioned him in. Once he went in, the door was shut behind him.

The brown suited man looked up gave him a tight smile and said, "Jonathan Spengler, how nice to meet you. Have a seat please."

Jonathan sat down across from him. The man drug out his possessions folder and tossed it to him.

"Your things, I trust everything is there?" the man asked.

Jonathan looked in the folder. "No gun?" he asked dryly.

"There never was a gun," the man told him pointedly. "And Director Kakuzawa has turned in his retirement papers, effective immediately so he can spend some quality time with his family," the man explained.

"And we're shoveling to cover up as fast as we can," Jonathan said with a small grin.

The man eyed him and folded his arms in front of him on the desk. "Mr. Spangler, or rather, Mr. Conrad who was deported seventeen years ago for causing trouble. Yes, we do have you in file, and are aware you entered the country illegally."

"My passport is good, it's even stamped, see?" Jonathan said, showing it to him.

"Let's not play games, Mr... what should I call you?"

"Jonathan is fine by me."

"All right, Jonathan. We know why you came back, and we know you are the one who destroyed a secret government installation. Yes, Kakuzawa took your daughter for his own purposes. You have your daughter back, and you got your revenge on him. It's time to call a truce before this turns even bloodier."

Jonathan shoved his belongings in his pockets, quickly checking his cell phone. Settling back down, he eyed the man. "And what's to stop you from blowing sunshine up my ass, then coming after us as soon as I turn my back?" Jonathan asked.

"What's to stop you from leaving Japan, then making public all the evidence you have against us?" the man replied.

"Only my word, should I give it," Jonathan told him evenly.

"Same here. We are in similar situations, Jonathan. You don't want your family, or any of those dicloni girls hurt, and I do not want a large embarrassment to surface. We can help each other, or become involved in a very nasty battle that no one will win." The man said evenly.

Sensing this man was being honest, well, honest as he knew how, Jonathan asked, "What do you propose?"

"All charges dropped against you and your daughter. I would also ask that you become ... shall we say, an expert on diclonius so we can send you any we find. How you deal with them is up to you, and none of our business. In exchange for that, you will leave Japan never to return and take those dicloni you stole with you. We would require you to never allow your evidence to see the light of day. We get rid of our problems, and you can have the satisfaction of knowing you got what you want. Everyone is happy, and no more blood is spilled."

"I'm surprised you don't ask me to destroy my evidence," Jonathan remarked.

"I am not dumb, Jonathan. I highly doubt you would do that. As I said, let's not play games. We both have something we want to protect, let's do that peacefully."

Jonathan nodded in thought for a moment, then said, "I have a counter proposal. As you said, I keep my evidence safely tucked away unless someone tries to come after me or Kaede. I do like the idea of becoming this diclonius expert. I'll be able to watch over them so people like Kakuzawa won't be turning them into murdering monsters, or killing babies any longer. However, I stay in Japan. Main reason being, Japan is where this mutation is happening. Also, there are diclonius who do have families, and it would be very unfair to uproot them. That might well be a bloody battle in itself. What your government would do is simple, cooperate with me. If any of those girls ever do find they might like to join the military, I'm sure they would be welcome. There will no more forced attempts to make weapons out of them, however."

Seeing the man's face twitch, Jonathan added, "Yes, I know about that also."

The man took a deep breath and said, "I have your cell phone number, I'll be in touch. In good faith, the charges on you and your daughter will disappear. I trust you can behave yourself in the mean time?"

"I will, and I'll keep an eye on those girls too," Jonathan agreed. "By the way, who did you say you were again?"

"I didn't," he man said with a tight grin. "I was never here."

"Right," Jonathan said slowly. "So what do I call someone who is not here?"

"Mr. Y."

"Al right, Mr. Y., we are agreed on no more nasty tricks?" Jonathan asked.

"Very well. I believe this is how you seal a deal?" Mr. Y. said as he got up and extended his hand.

Jonathan got up and shook his hand. "It is sir. Thank you for being reasonable."

.

Kouta sat trying to study, but across from him, Ayami was watching him intently. He did his best to ignore her, and it wasn't working. Looking up at her, he asked, "Is there something I can help you with?"

Ayami nodded, and said, "Yes! You see, I've asked Jonathan and he wouldn't tell me. He said another girl should tell us. We asked Yuka, but we're not sure if she can be believed. Kaede won't give me or Yuki an answer, and I don't don't know who else to ask but you." she explained in a run of words.

"OK," Kouta said slowly. "What's your question?"

Dropping her elbows on the table, Ayami planted her chin on her hands. Wearing an expectant smile as she asked, "Would you tell me all about sex, and sleeping with a guy?"

"Huh?" Kouta gasped.

"Oh please, no one else will tell us!" Ayami pleaded.

"Yuka... wouldn't tell you?" Kouta asked while he tried to think of a way out of this.

"Well, she did, but Yuki caught her saying stuff we think is just her opinion. I mean, some of it sounded right, about how a guy enters the girl and that's how she gets pregnant, but other stuff, like a guy can only have one girl, or two girls can't be a wife to the same guy, we think is something she made up. Kinda like her calling you a pervert," Ayami said in a run of words.

"A... haha, Yuka said that?" Kouta asked nervously.

"Yes, so please tell me, is it OK for me and Yuki to sleep with Jonathan? We were wondering too, if you would be OK with sleeping with both Kaede and Yuka," Ayami asked in another run of words.

"Ahhh... I think I'd die," Kouta said weakly. "There is no way Yuka would do something like that."

"Well, I just used you, Yuka, and Kaede because you all live together. Yuki thinks Yuka is spoiled, that's why she's like the way she is. If she wasn't, then we think it would be easier on all of you. That is, pretending that Yuka wasn't spoiled. But if you, or we do all love each other, wouldn't that be OK?" Ayami prodded in her rambling speech.

"I see what you're asking," Kouta said. Taking a deep breath, he explained, "By law, a man can only have one wife. That doesn't mean he loves only one woman. I guess if ... he loves two women, and they love him, and are fine with each other then it should be OK. They will run into problems though, so before you try something like that, you'd have to be absolutely sure that's what you want to do."

"But, it is possible?" Ayami prodded.

"Yes, but it would not be easy. Only one woman would be the wife. The other would be called a mistress. The mistress would not be recognized as part of the family by law, even though she really was," Kouta explained.

"This law thing sounds unfair," Ayami grumbled.

"That's the way it is," Kouta said.

Curling her lip in a pout, Ayami said, "I really wanted to be a wife with Yuki, but if I have to, I can be the mistress."

"And Jonathan is OK with this?" Kouta asked.

"Oh, he doesn't know yet. He says we're too young, but we'll get older. We can be his daughters until then," Ayami said happily.

"I ... ah, think you better talk to Jonathan before you make any more plans," Kouta told her.

"As soon as he gets back," Ayami assured him. Bouncing up, Ayami said, "Thanks Kouta!" and ran out.

Kouta sagged in place. He took a moment to clear his mind to get back to studying, but someone else knelt down beside him.

"You handled that well," Yuka said, wearing a small grin.

"Oh, ummm, thanks," he offered.

"Do you think ... I'm spoiled? That I've had it too easy?" Yuka asked.

"Why would I think that?" he asked.

"Well, everyone else in this house has had it really rough. You, Mayu, Nana, Lu... I mean Kaede, and obviously those two girls Kaede's father found. Compared to the rest of you, I've lead a charmed life," Yuka mussed.

"There's nothing wrong with not having bad things happen to you," Kouta told her. "In fact, I'm happy you've been spared," he added with a smile as he looked at her.

Yuka offered him a brief smile. She then stayed silent a moment as if drawing up her courage, then said, "Please be honest. Who do you love the most. Me or Kaede?"

Kouta's jaw froze open. He couldn't answer. He wanted to say something, but nothing would come out. He got out a croak, and got his jaw to move but he couldn't form any words. He was also partly afraid of getting beat up if Yuka didn't like his answer.

"That's OK, you don't have to answer right now," Yuka said in a surprisingly soft tone. "Just think about it and be honest with us. Whoever you choose, we'll both be fine with it." She then got up and left.

Kouta's brain was numb, his thoughts de-railed. Comprehending the words in his book was impossible now. Why did she have to go and ask a question like that?

.

"Ohhhh he really likes that!" Ayami said with a giggle as she rubbed Wanta's belly. Wanta lay on his back, kicking his back feet as she rubbed him.

Sitting in a squat nearby, Mayu and Nana watched Ayami play with Wanta.

Mayu giggled, and told Nana, "She kind of reminds me of you when you first came."

"Yeah, think we could all be sisters?" Nana asked.

Ayami perked up. "That would be fun! I really like this place, all of you are so nice." She then frowned and added, "Kaede is being more grumpy. She wasn't in a very good mood this morning. I didn't talk to her, I was afraid she was going to do something bad if I did."

The gate opened up. Jonathan came in, followed by a middle aged man and woman and a teenage boy. "Ayami, you been behaving yourself?" he asked.

Ayami shot up with a bright smile. "Jonathan!" she screamed in joy, and ran into him to hug him tightly. In a run of words, she said, "We were so worried, and Kaede is too but she just got grumpier, and there are things me and Yuki want to talk to you about, and ... ohhhh I'm so happy you are back!"

Jonathan laughed at her exuberance. Turning so she could see the couple behind him, Jonathan said, "Ayami, I had to make a stop along the way. I found your parents, they are very anxious to see you." He then turned her to face them.

"Ayami?" the woman asked with tears in her eyes as she slowly approached.

"My god, Ayami, we're so happy to see you," the man said as he reached out to her.

"Ayami, this is your father and mother. That is your brother," Jonathan said as he back away from them.

Hugging herself, Ayami's eyes became moist. "Is this OK? You still want me?" she asked sheepishly.

"Of course we do!" her mother said and hugged hugged her tightly. "Oh, Ayami, they told us you died!"

"We're so happy to see you," Her father said, and joined the hug.

"You're so thin!" her mother exclaimed, "Come on home, dear. Let's get some food into you."

"That you so much for returning our daughter to us!" the man said, and broke his hug to give Jonathan a deep bow. "I don't know how to ever repay you!"

"Just be decent to her. She deserves a good family." Jonathan replied.

"Ohhh, I'm so happy!" Ayami cried, then burst into tears.

Jonathan watched the happy reunion, then felt a stiff tap on his shoulder. He turned to see Kaede eyeing him.

"You'll be coming soon, huh? It's been four days. Do you know how worried I was?" Kaede said heavily.

Jonathan shrugged. "Sorry, hon, it took a bit longer than I thought."

"If you got away from them, then you'll need to stay inside." she said.

Jonathan hugged Kaede and said, "No, no more hiding for me, or you. You're off the wanted list for good. You can go wherever you want, do whatever you want." Spreading his arms wide, he said, "You're free."

"What about those men looking for me?" Kaede asked warily.

"Taken care of. They won't be bothering you any more." he assured her.

"That sounds too good to be true."

"God, my sister is a horned freak," the boy said as he watched Ayami and his parents in the group hug. He stood to the side, eyeing Ayami with distaste.

Lucy eyed the boy with daggers.

Clapping a hand on Kaede's shoulder, Jonathan said, "First rule. He's clueless, so don't hurt him. I am sure you can convince him to be a bit more respectful of his sister if you give him a little demonstration. Remember, a bit of fear goes a long way."

Kaede looked at Jonathan and nodded. Walking up to the boy, she asked, "What's you name?"

The boy scanned Kaede up and down then with a sneer, asked, "What's it to you?"

"Let's talk." Kaede said, and walked away. The boy's shirt pulled out. He yelped in surprise as he was dragged behind her.

Jonathan allowed himself a smirk at the round-eyed shock in the boy's eyes as Kaede dragged him off to the side.

"Umm, what's going on," Kouta asked as he came out.

"Ahh you must be Kouta!" Jonathan said heartily. Walking up to Kouta, Jonathan gave him a solid clap on the back that shook his frame as he said, "I've heard many good things about you." Jonathan then put an arm around him and smiled. "Kaede really likes you, son. You're in college?"

"Uh, yeah," Kouta said, dazed by the greeting.

"Good for you! Good for you. So tell me all about it. What's your major? What do you have lined up for job offers after college?" Jonathan asked, all smiles.

To the side, near where Kaede now had Ayami's brother pinned to a wall, a rock exploded.

"Kaede, everything OK over there?" Jonathan asked.

Kaede cast a glance over her shoulder at him. "Fine, we're just having a talk about respect." To the boy, she asked, "Isn't that right?"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say," the boy agreed as he nodded vigorously.

Kouta stood half squeezed by Jonathan's one armed hug. Somehow he knew things were going to be a bit different from now on.

.

The man in the brown suit, Mr. Y., sat at the head of the table, listening to the reports on Jonathan Spengler.

"Sir, Mr. Spengler owns a shipping company of six vessels, three of which are in our territorial waters at the moment. One is off the coast of Kamakura, a second is docked up in Honshu, the third has just arrived in Tokyo. He also has made substantial bank transfers here that do not relate to his shipping business. All his ships have been active in satellite Internet communications. Any information he has acquired, could be all over the world by now."

"What about the bank transfers? Where is he sending his money" Mr. Y. asked.

"He opened an account for one Kaede Conrad, four million yen. He transferred eight hundred thousand yen to a numbered account in Switzerland. He also withdrew a sizable amount, much more than would be needed for what appears to be his meager daily spending, another nine hundred thousand yen."

"What about his movements?"

"Upon leaving jail, he visited a family and took them to the Maple Inn. A dicloni girl left with them. Jonathan himself has not moved from that location. Listening to his cell phone conversations, you'd think he is a drunk. He's bought beer, whiskey and saki from several places."

"He is no drunk," Mr. Y. stated. "He's using code. Find out who he called, maybe we can find out what he's really buying. My guess is he's buying muscle and spies to watch us."

"Do you think this man is a security risk?" a general asked.

"He is one of the worst security risks we have ever faced. Whether or not he acts on the information he has, depends on how we treat him. He's being smart, gentlemen. Do not underestimate this guy."

"Why can't we just eliminate him?"

Mr. Y. shook his head and said, "That would cause a war. He has control over the last remaining diclonius, and who knows how many secret plants he has waiting to strike. From the island fiasco, he is efficient and can be deadly. I am sure he has viruses set to attack our systems as well. Not to mention some embarrassing secrets of ours would become international knowledge. We'd have to take out all his ships, all the diclonius, him, and any other of his holdings all at the same time. Since we do not know everything he's into, we would have very little chance of success. Not to mention there is a thing called "Morning Star" some of his contacts have talked about. I don't know what Morning Star is, but we have found communications to London, Moscow, Bejing, Washington, Terhan, and North Korea about it. Whatever it is, I am sure he has retaliation on a grand scale primed. Killing him is not a good idea."

"Sir, if we co-operate with him, can we trust him?" another man asked.

"As much as he trusts us. That trust being he has a gun to our head, as we have to his, and we are watching each other's trigger finger. One side makes a move, and the other will shoot too." MR. Y. said. Spreading his hands out, he asked, "So do we let him stay in Japan? Or do we demand he leave with the dicloni?"

"Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer," the general said. "Keep him here. We also still want the dicloni for military purposes."

MR. Y. cracked a brief smile. "I am sure that is his true reasoning for wanting to stay also. As far as the dicloni, we'll have to negotiate that with him."

"Why would they listen to him, a human?" the general asked.

"The one identified as the 'Queen' is his daughter," Mr. Y. stated heavily. "He has a leash on them, we need to tread carefully in respect to the dicloni."

The general barked a laugh and said, "You did not exaggerate when you said he has a gun to our head. He could cause mass devastation."

"Or, he could help us," another man offered. "If he has control of the diclonius, we can't be held responsible for anything that happens regarding them. I suggest we bow to his wishes and make him feel at home. In fact, make it widely known that he runs the diclonius project. If he screws up and innocent civilians die, it will be on his head. Our public screams of anguish will drown out any evidence he has. We get the information we want, he takes the fall."

Mr. Y. sported a true smile. "Yes, that does seem like a good idea," he agreed.

.

As the dinner broke up, Jonathan praised Yuka for making a fine meal. He then clapped Kouta on the back again and all smiles, said, "Come on, let's go have a talk."

"Umm, OK," Kouta said tentatively.

Nana frowned, then her eyes flew open. "NO!" she yelled in terror. Rushing in between them, she pushing Kouta away. Glaring up at Jonathan, she said, "Not Kouta! Kouta is a good guy, I won't let you hurt Kouta!"

"What?" Jonathan asked as he gapped at her.

Standing projectively in front of Kouta, Nana said, "I've heard what happens when you talk to people! Kouta is our father, I won't let you hurt him!"

Jonathan stared at her, then threw his head back and burst out in a roar of laughter. Quelling his mirth, Jonathan told her, "It's not going to be that kind of talk. I just want to speak to Kouta man to man, you know, kinda like father and son," he assured her.

"Dad, what are you doing?" Kaede asked.

Jonathan waved a hand at her and said, "Just guy talk is all. Nothing to worry about."

"Father and son?" Yuka asked warily.

"Just an expression," Jonathan assured her. "You know, older man to a younger one."

Yuka cast Kaede a wary glance before she left for the kitchen.

Jonathan's phone rang. He opened his cell phone. "Jonathan ...Right, thanks. Don't forget to pick up my saki." he then hung up.

"We're drinking? I ummm, have school tomorrow," Kouta said.

"No we're not drinking tonight, just a little chat between guys," Jonathan said cheerfully.

.

Kaede helped Nana take some more dishes into the kitchen. As they entered, a fuming Yuka turned on Kaede and asked, "Why would your father want a 'father and son' talk with Kouta?"

"I really don't know," Kaede replied.

"He said, like a father ands son talk," Nana explained. "Maybe he just wants to get to know Kouta a little better. It's OK, I don't think he's going to hurt Kouta."

Working at the sink, Yuka grumbled to herself, "I DON'T like where this is going."

.

Jonathan led Kouta up the steps to the second floor, then sat down mid way up. "Have a seat," he said pleasantly.

Kouta sat down beside him. "Is this about Kaede?" he asked.

Jonathan checked the stairs, then in a more serious tone said, "No, what you kids do is your business. This is about something serious. You know there are people after Kaede and Nana, don't you?"

Kouta swallowed nervously and asked, "I thought you took care of that?"

"I did, as much as possible. I know those kind of people, they're not going to just give up on her. If they even think I'm not watching, they might go for those girls. Take my advice, don't trust anyone outside your family and never believe your home is safe. Take this," Jonathan said, then pulled an automatic pistol out of his shirt and handed it to Kouta.

Kouta's eyes went round. "But... that's illegal!" he gasped.

"Sure is, and the only way you can hope to stop someone who wants to hurt your family. When it comes down to you or them, be damn sure it's THEM who fall," Jonathan said seriously.

Seeing Kouta eyeing the gun but not reaching to take it, Jonathan added, "Don't worry, it has a silencer on it. No loud bang, just a pop. You probably won't even wake anyone up at night if you have to use it. Popping a balloon makes more noise."

"I've never shot a gun before," Kouta said, eyeing the gun.

"Easy, pull this hammer back and pull the trigger. At close range like inside here, don't take a long time aiming, just point at the center of their body mass and shoot. If they don't fall, keep shooting until they do," Jonathan explained.

"I don't like guns," Kouta said with a frown.

In a stern voice, Jonathan said, "Hey kid, it's not about 'like'. It's about keeping some asshole from hurting or killing your family." He then thrust the gun into Kouta's hands. "Take it, hide it so you know where it is, and it can't be easily found. I think you're smart enough to know this is only for 'just in case'. It may well rot away wherever you put it. In fact, let's hope it does. If you need it though, it will be there."

For some reason, the gun in his hands felt awful hot to Kouta. He tucked it in his shirt, then said, "I'll... go hid it now. Good night." Kouta got up and went down to his room.

Jonathan watched Kouta go, then opened up his phone. He punched in a number, then said, "I need info on a Mr. Y. who was at the police station down by the train station at noon today. Native Japanese, five five, light build, standard haircut, medium brown suit. Proper name, address, job title, automotive license is he has one. One bottle of saki per request." He then flipped the phone shut and went to his room.

.

Kouta wandered down to his room in a daze. He had a gun! It was heavy and it was longer than most pistols he'd seen. It felt hot against his skin like some forbidden demon waiting to cause havoc. What was he going to do? Kouta sat down in his room, wanting to take the gun out so he wouldn't have to feel it's weight, but afraid to touch it again. He wasn't like Kaede's father, or those SAT men who carried guns like they were part of them.

"Hey Kouta, how did your talk with Kaede's father go?" Yuka asked from the doorway in a sweet/sarcastic tone.

Kouta turned his dazed eyes to her. "Come in, shut the door," he said blankly.

Seeing his face, Yuka did as he asked. "What's wrong, what did he do to you?" she asked in a worried tone.

Kouta swallowed nervously, and pulled the gun out. "He gave me this," he said weakly.

Yuka gasped and covered her mouth. "On my god, what for?"

"He said we're not safe. He wants me to keep it in case someone tries to hurt us," Kouta said. Looking at Yuka, he asked, "What have we gotten into?"

.

Jonathan went to his room and found Yuki in a bathrobe, sitting on the middle of his futon. Shutting the door, he noted she watched him closely.

"What is it, Yuki?" he asked.

Yuki offered him a brief smile and said, "I am happy for Ayami. I'm sure she will have a good life. The question is, what will I have?"

Jonathan sat down in front of her and asked offhand, "What is it you want?"

Not quite looking at him, Yuki said, "I want someone who will treat me good. Someone who can understand and accept me."

"Nothing wrong with that," Jonathan offered.

Shifting her gaze to look into his eyes, Yuki said, "I want you, Jonathan. I want us to be together for the rest of our lives."

Jonathan watched her thoughtfully. This was just a kid. Yuki might have those powerful vectors that were so well documented, but she was also a scared kid who was begging for someone to cling to. She had no life experience, she had no place to go. With the reactions he'd seen so far, her chance at living a normal live was small. He wondered if anyone outside if this house would be able to accept the fact she was different.

Becoming anxious from Jonathan's silence, Yuki clasped his hands and leaned into him. Snuggling her head on his chest, she whispered, "Please, let be yours."

Lifting her chin, Jonathan gazed into her watery eyes. Yes she was a kid. She was also a blooming young woman, and he had the feeling words of assurance wouldn't mean much to her. Like him, she wanted action. Proof that he was going to be there for her and take care of her. "Are you sure about this?" he asked softly. "You know I've got a daughter older than you."

Letting out a cute snort, Yuki said, "She'll have to deal with it. Johnathan, I don't want to be your daughter. I want to be with you. I want to take care of you just as you are taking care of me. I want the comfort of feeling you beside me every night."

Whether it was her doe-eyes looking up at him so pleadingly, or the fact he had not had a woman in a very long time, he kissed her gently on the lips. Yuki wrapped her arms around him as the kiss deepened. He kissed her until she let out a soft moan. Breaking the kiss, Jonathan held her close and whispered in her ear. "I will always be here for you, sweet Yuki."

Yuki's heat was pounding, her panting breaths couldn't seem to take in enough air as he kissed her neck, then pulled her robe aside to kiss her shoulder. He kept on planting soft kisses on her as he slowly peeled her robe away. Yuki held her Jonathan, reveling in the sweet sensations. Whatever he wanted to do, howevery he wanted to show her affection, she was ready to accept him.


	5. Chapter 5

On their way back from the meeting with Mr. Y., Jonathan decided to take a walk along the beach with Kaede.

When he had told Kaede he was going to meet with the government officials, she insisted on coming with him. Johnathan was concerned about both of them being in one place so close to the enemy, but her presence had made a positive impact on the negotiations. Under Kaede's quiet scrutiny, he swore they would have given him all of Japan just to keep the peace.

"So, now that you are the new Director, will I have to go back into that steel vault?" Kaede asked curiously.

Jonathan looked to see she was eyeing him with a smirk. Cracking his own grin, he said, "Only if you don't make some kind of move on your boyfriend," he replied.

Kaede's grin faded as she watched the ground in front of her. Thinking about the night she slept with Kouta, she said, "I've been trying, I don't think Kouta is interested in me that way. I mean, he's never tried to touch me."

"Oh bullshit," Jonathan stated. "He's interested all right. I've seen the way he looks at you." Seeing a set of steps down onto the beach, Jonathan angled them down the steps. "It's been forever since I've walked on a beach, it's a good place to ponder and talk." he said.

Looking out at the water, Kaede tried to remember where it was she had first come ashore and found Kouta there, almost as if he had been waiting for her. Alot had happened on this beach, both good any bad. Her father wsa right, this was a good place to ponder and talk. Kaede let out a huff. "Dad, Kouta likes Yuka too. I don't think Kouta will ever pick either of us," she said. Seeing a clump of seaweed in their path, she used a vector to flick it aside.

"And how long have you known him?"

"Since we were small children."

Jonathan frowned, and asked, "So tell me about Yuka, who is she?"

As Kaede explained, Jonathan's peripheral vision picked up someone sticking their head out of a tarp by the seawall. The man watched them briefly, then got out and strode towards them. Unaware, Kaede looked down at the sand as she was telling about Yuka, and how she hit Kouta whenever he showed Kaede any affection.

The man was coming up behind them. Jonathan gently moved Kaede in front of him under the pretext of keeping her out of the surf. He let the man get to within a few yards behind them, then he spun and faced him.

"You want something bud?" Jonathan asked harshly. He then noticed the ragged man with only half a right arm had his remaining hand inside his dirty sport coat.

The man stopped short. "I want that bitch to turn around," he grated.

Jonathan put his own hand behind his back and grabbed the handle of his pistol. "I don't give a fuck what you want. Who are you and who do you work for?" Jonathan replied just as roughly.

"You again," Kaede stated.

The man grew a predatory grin. "Move aside, that bitch is my prey," he said and drew a pistol.

Jonathan snapped his up at the same time. "That 'bitch' is my daughter, drop it or die," he commanded.

The man gapped at him briefly. Jonathan took that time to shoot. His bullet hit the other man's gun, knocking it away. The man recoiled, Jonathan barked, "Don't move!"

The man let out an evil chuckle. "So, the bitch has a father," he growled.

"Call my daughter a bitch one more time, and you'll be eating that fucking gun," Jonathan growled.

"Bando, just give it up, you can't win," Kaede said heavily.

"You know this asshole?" Jonathan asked.

"That bitch took my fucking arm!" Bando yelled as he held up his stump. "No one does that to me and gets away with it!"

"Looks like she already has," Jonathan noted. "Be glad she didn't kill you. I hope you're going to like the taste of that gun being shoved down your throat."

"Try it!" Bando roared, "Or are you just gonna let your little bitch do your fighting for you?"

Glaring at him, Jonathan shifted his gun to his left hand, then folded his right hand up along his arm and said, "Kaede, tie my arm back, this asshole needs a painful lesson."

Kaede let out a sigh, and said, "Dad, you don't need to do this." She drew Bando's gun to her and showed it to him. "I have his gun, he's nothing but mouth now."

"A mouth that needs to be shut hard," Jonathan grated.

"Come on, daddy, I'm gonna love kicking your ass in front of that bitch," Bando replied with his nasty grin.

Jonathan made sure Kaede had tied his arm, then he handed her his gun. Kaede stepped back as the two men squared off.

"Well, tough guy, you gonna jump, or is the only thing you're good for is fighting little girls?" Jonathan asked, wearing his own sadistic grin.

With a roar, Bando lunged. He faked a punch, then brought his leg up on a powerful kick aimed at Jonathan's head. Jonathan ducked the kick, then punched him hard in the cheek with his left hand, and dove close to ram his right elbow into Bando's sternum. Bando stumbled back, tripped in the sand and fell.

"Is that all you've got?" Jonathan asked as in disbelief, then threw his head back and laughed.

Letting out a growl, Bando shot up and came at him again. This time in a flurry of motion, he jumped up, faked a kick that Jonathan evaded, then kicked with his other foot, catching Jonathan's stomach. Jonathan stumbled back. Bando followed, swinging with a punch aimed at Jonathan's face. Jonathan nodded quickly, making Bnado's fist glance off the top of his head. Jonathan then jumped close driving his knee up to catch Bando in the groin. Bando twisted and took the knee on his hip. In a backhand, Bando caught Jonathan's cheek when he was off balance, sending him flying back into the sand.

"Need a crutch, daddy?" Bando chided.

"You'll need two," Jonathan growled, and shot to his feet.

Kaede watched the men fight, wincing every now and then as Bando landed a solid hit on her father. For how hard and bitter the fight seemed, she couldn't help but notice they were both grinning.

Fifteen minutes later, they were both still pounding each other and spitting insults from their tight grins. Kaede threw Bando's gun out to sea with a vector. It was still flying as it faded from view. She stood back and watched them, then sat down and waited for one of them to fall and not jump right back up.

A half hour later, Kaede was becoming bored. Sitting with her hand on her chin, she wondered how long they could take such blows before one of them fell down for good. Blood was showing on both their faces, yet the grins still prevailed. "He's liking this too much," she noted to herself.

An hour later the combatants were slowing, but still at it. A crowd was gathering. Neither man gave any ground, and were now being cheered on by the onlookers. Kaede noted some leather clad boys in the crowd were making bets on who would win.

After what seemed like forever, Bando and Jonathan now stood toe to toe, trading one armed punches. Bando recoiled from a blow, then came back to slam Jonathan with a hard fist. Jonathan recoiled low. It looked like he was going down, then he sprang back with a powerful backhand to connected solidly with Bando's cheek. A tooth went flying with a bit of Bando's blood. Bando stumbled back as he twisted and fell. He didn't get up.

A roar of approval filled the beach as Jonathan looked down on Bando. Jonathan took a step toward Kaede. He sported a bloody grin, and on his next step, he fell face first into the sand. He didn't get up either.

Kaede went over and picked her father up with her vectors, and carried him off the beach on her back. She frowned at the cheers following her as she lugged her unconscious father up the stairs. "You didn't need to do that," she grumbled at him.

.

Jonathan awoke with a pounding headache. Moaning as he tried to sit up, he found his ribs hurt like hell. He flopped back down.

A cool washcloth dabbed his face. "Stay still, you need to rest," Yuki said softly.

Through his bruised, puffy eyes, Jonathan saw he was in his room at the Maple Inn. Yuki again rinsed the cloth and dabbed his lip where it was split open. Offering her a grin, he said, "Hi sweetie, what did I miss?"

Yuki scowled at him. "Kaede told me about your fight. Why did you do that? Look at you, you're all messed up now!" she scolded.

"Yeah, but I put that asshole back in his place. Sometimes you need to stand on even terms with someone to prove your point," he told her.

"Well, don't go proving any more points!" Yuki said sternly. "You look ... ugly now! I want my Jonathan in one piece!"

Jonathan let out a chuckle, then winced from a pain in his side. "Sorry, sweetie, it had to be done."

Not pleased with him, Yuki dropped the washcloth back into the bowl and said, "Dinner will be ready soon, I'll bring you in a plate."

"Nope, I'll get up. If I don't move now, I might never get up," Jonathan said. As he sat up, he noted it was much easier. He then felt her vectors on his back. Shaking his head, he waved her off and said, "I have to do this myself."

"Fine!" she snapped. Standing up, Yuki walked out.

Jonathan fell back in place with a yelp of pain as soon as the vectors vanished. "I'm getting too old for this shit," he said in a groan. He forced himself to get up.

Jonathan limped his way to the dinning room. On the way, Mayu came out from her room. Upon seeing Jonathan, she cast him a scowl and hurried on ahead of him. Nana poked her head out and eyed him.

"What happened, did someone have a 'talk' with you?" Nana asked.

"More of an argument," Jonathan replied. "It took a while to come to an understanding."

"Well, no arguing here, OK?" Nana asked.

"Wouldn't think of it," Jonathan assured her.

.

In the dinning room, Yuki guided Jonathan to sit as he groaned in place. It seemed they were all not happy with him. Yuka ignored him, Mayu sat as far from him as she could get, Kaede only cast him frowns, and Kouta avoided meeting eyes with him as well.

Seeing the mood everyone was in, Nana cheerily pipped up with, "Hey Yuka, when we go shopping tomorrow, can Mayu and I get kimono's? They look so cute, I want to have one."

Kouta frowned and said, "I have to check our budget. We have to watch what we spend."

"I'll take you shopping," Kaede told her. "I think I'd like to try on one for myself."

"Kaede, Kouta just said we have to watch what we spend," Yuka said sternly.

"I'll buy them," Kaede countered.

"You have money?" Yuka asked, not believing it.

Kaede nodded and pointed her chopsticks at Jonathan. "Mr. Slug Fest over there got me my own bank account. I need to start helping with the costs around here anyway."

"I've been reduced to Mr. Slug Fest?" Jonathan asked.

Eyeing him, Kaede said, "How about Mr. I-don't-have-to-fight-but-let's-do-it-anyway?"

"He won't be coming after you with a gun any more," Jonathan told her.

"Because I threw it in the ocean." Kaede countered.

"He can get another gun. What he can't get is an excuse for being beaten in a fair fight," Jonathan retorted.

Trying to get them off the subject, Nana cheerfully said, "If Kaede has money, and I use some of the money I have left, we should be able to all get kimono's! How about it Yuka, would you like one too?"

"Kaede is right, you shouldn't have done that," Yuki stated.

Casting a scowl at Yuki, Mayu quietly said, "Theres a few things that he shouldn't be doing."

"That's true," Kouta said, thinking about the gun that was now hidden in his room.

About to take a drink, Jonathan sat his cup down. "I take it you're not happy with me?" he asked.

"No, I'm not!" Mayu snapped. "You should leave Yuki alone!"

Everyone gapped at Mayu. Cheeks pink with anger, Mayu returned her focus on eating.

Yuki looked over at Mayu and asked, "Why are you upset with what I do with Jonathan?"

Kouta looked at Mayu confused for a second, then he turned a knowing gaze to Jonathan. "We need to talk after dinner," he said.

Nana eyed Kouta and asked, "Not one of 'those' talks, right?"

"No,no, just a friendly one" Kouta said with a nervous laugh.

"With no guns, I trust," Yuka added.

Eyeing Yuka, Kaede asked, "What's this about guns?"

"It's nothing, really," Kouta said.

Shifting her gaze to Jonathan, Kaede asked sternly, "What's this about guns?"

Letting out a sigh, Jonathan said, "Kaede, I know you can take care of yourself, but there are others here who need a little help protecting themselves."

"So, you're going to give everyone a gun?" she asked in disbelief.

"No, only Kouta. He's the man of the house, it's his responsibility to protect the rest of you, should the need ever arise," Jonathan told her firmly.

"Kouta hates guns!" Kaede cried.

"I don't care what he hates," Jonathan replied. "Would you rather someone come in and grab Nana, Mayu or Yuka? Kaede, you seen for yourself today. Those men may be agreeable to your face. Behind your back, they are a pack of jackals. They can't be trusted."

"So if they come here, the solution is for Kouta to shoot them and be dragged off to jail?" Kaede asked with acid in her voice.

"Not if I can help it. And even if he is, isn't that better than seeing one of these girls lying dead, or dragged away to suffer worse?" Jonathan asked.

"Like you did with Yuki?" Mayu asked sarcastically.

Jonathan stared at her and asked, "What are you talking about?"

"I saw you!" Mayu cried as tears formed in her eyes. "You're no better than ... that man who was with my mother. You forced Yuki to ... do bad things!"

"He did not!" Yuki cried as she gapped at Mayu. "Jonathan didn't do anything wrong. Don't go saying things like that about him!"

Kouta planted a hand over his face and said in a groan, "I was afraid this was going to happen."

"And what did you do with Yuki?" Kaede asked heavily as she glared at her father.

Glaring back at her, Jonathan said, "That's none of your business. That's between myself and Yuki."

Nana balled her fists and yelled, "Can we please STOP IT!"

Silence reined for a moment. Jonathan finally said, "Look, I know I'm probably ... interfering here, and making you all nervous. If you're angry with me, I'm sorry. I just can't let sit back and let things slide. The fact is there are men out there who would like nothing more than to get their hands on Kaede, Yuki, and Nana again. I'll do whatever I have to, even if you don't like it, to stop them. As far as Yuki goes, we are a couple. I would never do anything to hurt her. That's all you need to know about that."

"Yuki is what, Mayu's age?" Yuka asked harshly.

"Yuki is sixteen, her birthday is next month, on the twelfth." Jonathan replied.

"How do you know that?" Yuki asked.

"It was in your records on that island. And no, I won't forget," Jonathan told her.

"So, you know when my birthday is?" Kaede asked.

Jonathan grinned and nodded, "Sure do, and not from any records. I still remember when your mother called, telling me you'd been born." His smile faded as he looked at nothing. "We were so happy..." He then winced said, "That was the last time I talked to her."

"I'm so sorry," Yuka offered.

Jonathan stared off at nothing for a moment, then said, "Kouta, Yuka, Yuki, I'm going to give you a phone number, and directions to an old underground base. If anything happens to Kaede, call that number. When a person picks up, say 'Morningstar', then hang up. After that, get to that base and stay there. I already have supplies stored there. It's the only place you'll be safe."

"What is Morningstar?" Kouta asked tentatively.

"Retribution."

.

Mr. N. sat in Jonathan's apartment looking for anything he might have missed. The paper evidence and computer had all been taken away, he'd helped analyze most of it. There was one reference that they had no information on. This thing mentioned only once in Jonathan's communications, Morningstar. It wasn't a program, and if it was an action plan, then Jonathan had been secretive enough not to give away what it did. Seeing how major governments all over the world had received this communication, he had no doubt that it was important.

"Think like Jonathan," Mr. N. coaxed himself. Jonathan had worked all over the world for many governments to solve or cause incidents. His shipping business was an elaborate front to allow Jonathan to go anywhere virtually undetected.

Mr. N. agreed with Jonathan's plans to get his daughter back. He would have done the same himself. Helping Jonathan get what he wanted also helped minimize the damage that was unavoidable. There was a side of Jonathan that did deserve watching closely. Given the motivation, Jonathan was capable of great destruction.

Mr. N. had pulled out every drawer, scrutinized the interior of every cabinet, and looked in and under every movable object. He didn't believe that Jonathan would leave any clues behind, but he had to look just in case.

"Wonder if he's got anything to eat," Mr. N. mussed. He rummaged through the refrigerator, thinking about Jonathan's promise to tell the world about diclonius experiments. The more he thought about it, killing children would raise the ire of many people, but other than a mass outcry that could be denied, a threat like that didn't really have any teeth. Jonathan didn't deal with embarrassment. He dealt with results. Snapping up a bottle of beer, he thought about the governments involved, and why they would be concerned about diclonius.

Mr. N. eyes suddenly widened. He forgot about his stomach and raced to go contact Mr. Y.

.

The night stars shown as Jonathan and Kaede sat leaning against the wall of the Maple Inn.

"Tell me about my mother?" Kaede asked.

Jonathan cracked a gin as he gazed up at the stars. "Your mother was the best woman I ever knew. Pretty, smart, and just plain ... wonderful. Her skin was like porcelain, her manner was gentle and kind," he said in reminiscence. Turning his head to Kaede, he added, "That was, when she wasn't angry with me. Even then, as I was enraptured by her joy, I was also in love with her anger. I really wish you could have met her."

"Me too," Kaede said with a sad smile.

Jonathan returned the same sad smile and said, "Please forgive me. If I would have been home, then Azusa might still be alive, and you would never have been taken away."

"Or, you could be dead as well," Kaede countered. "You came for me. That is all that matters."

"I didn't even save you, you did that yourself," Jonathan said with a huff.

"Not true," Kaede said softly. "I went to there to let them kill me. I felt I had no true place in this world."

"You do have a place. Everything happens for a reason, Kaede."

Kaede let out a small giggle and leaned into him. "I have acceptance because of you. Kouta may want to live his life with me, and he may not. No matter what happens, I know you will always be there for me."

"Yes, I will do everything I can for you," Jonathan agreed. Pausing, he took on a thoughtful gaze and added, "Speaking of Kouta, you said Yuka is his cousin, right?"

"Yes, what of it?" she asked curiously.

"Just a thought," he mussed.

"About," Kaede prodded.

Jonathan cast her a grin and said, "I was going to go check on Ayami before we have our first meeting with the new staff. We're not going to tell Kouta that. In the morning just play along with me, OK?"

"What are you up to?"Kaede asked more seriously.

Giving her a wink, he said, "We'll find out how much Kouta likes you. We have to make a few stops tonight."

.

Kouta came out for breakfast and stopped short upon seeing Kaede in the entryway. She wore a "v" neck dress that just showed top of her cleavage and hugged her shape in a very sexy way. Her hair had been cut professionally. Instead of ragged ends, her pink hair was done up in flowing, shining waves. She turned to face him, and he saw she also wore makeup that enhanced her features. He swore his heart just stopped as he gazed at her.

"Morning Kouta," Kaede said cheerfully, "We'll be leaving early today, so go ahead and have breakfast without us."

"Us?" he asked as he gazed at her.

Jonathan came striding in and in his strong voice, he said, "Hey Kouta! Come on, hon, you don't want to keep him waiting, do you?"

Kaede shook her head. "Of course not. Will this really be OK?" Turning to Kouta she spread her arms and asked, "What do you think, is this attractive?"

"Um, yeah," Kouta said as he stared at her. "Who is 'he'?"

"Nothing to worry about," Jonathan said heartily, "Kaede will be safe. I think they're going to have a great time." pausing, Jonathan let out a huff and said, "Aww nuts! Hold on, I have to get something."

"Well, hurry up!" Kaede said.

Jonathan jogged back to his room. As he left, Yuka came out. Seeing Kaede, she gasped and said, "My my, don't you look pretty. What's the occasion?"

Beaming a smile at her, Kaede said, "I'm not suppose to say yet, but Dad insisted I spend the day with ... this guy. He thinks we'll hit it off really well."

Clapping her hands in joy, Yuka cried, "That is wonderful! Ohh, when you get home PLEASE give me the details. I do hope you have a fantastic time."

"What guy?" Kouta asked weakly as the blood drained from his face.

Jonathan came back. Waving to Kouta and Yuka, he said, "We'll be going now. I'll let you know if Kaede makes it back for dinner." Waving a small package of pills, he told Kaede, "Sea sick pills, just in case. It would be embarrassing if you got sick on his yacht."

With a bright smile, Kaede left with her father.

"Yacht?" Kouta asked as he watched them go. Kaede was all dressed up and going to meet some guy on his yacht?

Sliding up beside him, Yuka bore a bright smile. "That is so nice, her father is really watching out for her. Hungry?"

Kouta laid a hand on his stomach. "I really don't feel very good right now... I think I'll go lie down."

"You do look a bit ill. Go rest, I'll fix you something whenever you're ready," Yuka said all smiles.

Kouta walked back to his room, hoping his legs would hold him up until he got there.

.

Yuki bounded over the wall and met Jonathan and Kaede on the walkway outside the gate. Wearing a frown, she told Jonathan, "That was mean! You should see Kouta, he looks really ill, like he's about to cry."

"Oh Kouta," Kaede said in a whine, and moved to go back in.

Jonathan caught her arm. "Don't you dare," he warned. "Let him think about it for a while. He's too content being surrounded by all you girls. It's time he made himself clear."

Wearing a stricken face, Kaede asked, "And what if he just gives up on me?"

"I doubt that will happen. Come on, we have things to do. Besides, I promised you breakfast."

.

Mr. Y. sat with his hands folded in front of him over his mouth, a worried look on his face. "Are you sure about this?"

Mr. N. nodded. "I have no proof, but like I said, Jonathan could care less about embarrassment. He'd want solid action, just like on that island. Only in this case, the 'island' might be all of Japan. Or at very least, the topple of our government."

"And the communications are already send?"

"I believe other governments have been notified of something. Look, our best defense is to come clean about the whole Diclonius project. China has never been friendly to us, and now with their new economy, they like to flex their muscles. They would love to jump onto our backs with something the rest of the world would get behind. Of course, the United States would sue for a peaceful solution, and help defend us. Who knows what those lunatic Muslims in Iran would do? Not to mention the North Koreans. The entire world situation could degrade very badly." Mr. N. explained.

Dropping his head in his hands, Mr. Y. said, "You're telling me he'd start world war three if we killed his daughter. Is he crazy?"

"Hes not someone to toy with," Mr. N. stated.

"I'm putting a guard on both of them. Until we figure this out, we can't afford any accidents."

.

"We have one main goal. Until that is solved, everything we do will stem from that," Jonathan announced to the people at the long table who eyed Yuki nervously as she sat to his right. Many of the people who he was assigned already knew of diclonius as heartless killers, yet he had brought them into the meeting with him.

Continuing on, Jonathan said, "Let's be honest folks, children, any children, do not understand some of the things they do. It happened to Yuki here, as it did many others. It would be the same thing as a child finding a gun, and too many times, it turns out very badly for everyone."

"Sir," a man asked as he raised his hand. "These children are born with lethal weapons. How can we stop that?"

"We can't so we must learn how to control vector development until they are old enough to understand what it is they do," Jonathan stated.

"Excuse me, but how can we do that?" Arakawa asked as she tried not to notice Yuki sitting beside her.

"You're Arakawa, right?" Jonathan asked. "Haven't you studied these girls?"

"Yes sir, I discovered the mechanism in their DNA that makes their pinal glands grow enlarged and make vectors possible. I was working on a vaccine to shrink the gland and eliminate their vectors so they could live like normal people," she explained.

"Sir, these girls are dangerous. I would highly recommend letting Miss Arakawa finish her research." a man said firmly.

"How can we decide to experiment on them, when they are right here?" another man cried.

"Dealt with it," Jonathan said firmly. "These girls are not lab rats. They are people just as you are. Before any test is done, they will know exactly what will be happening and the reason behind it. The only way a test will be allowed is if there is a volunteer."

"Would that be acceptable if I could make the vectors go away?" Arakawa asked.

Jonathan nodded to her and said, "In some cases, yes. In other cases, that not may be the best solution."

"But then there would still be the risk of people dying and this disease spreading," Arakawa said firmly.

"And humanity would not be allowed to grow," Jonathan countered. "Take your blinders off, Miss Arakawa! Imagine, instead of treating these girls like animals, they are treated well, raised as decent people. Instead of random acts of killing, we find they can stop a lunatic gunman from killing hostages, rip open that car accident and get the people out before the car burns, pluck people out of a flood or burning building, maybe if there are enough of them, even stop that tsunami right at the coast. From all the research I found, this mutation has been trying hard to form. No one designed it, it happened naturally. There has to be a reason. If you can all remove your bias, there is a very good chance we can do good work for the betterment of mankind, instead of the devastation to it that you people fear."

"And just how can we do that?" a man asked gruffly.

"Like my father just said, how about treating us decently, instead of locking us away," Kaede said heavily as she glared at him.

"What Jonathan said is true!" Yuki announced. "Yes, I killed my own mother. I am very sorry I did, I never meant to do that. If I can help ONE child escape the pain I feel from that ... horrid mistake, I will do it. Kaede too was very young when she was locked away." Facing Kaede, she asked, "What was it that you first killed for?"

Eyeing the people at the table, Kaede took a deep breath and said, "Bullies. Kinda like the ones here who like to chain girls to walls and shoot cannon balls at them."

Nervous eyes shifted away from Kaede's hard gaze. One man asked, "So, you mean to kill us?"

"If I wanted to kill you, you'd be dead already," Kaede stated.

"The fact we are here, and all of you are still alive proves we want to work with you to stop the killing," Yuki said bluntly.

Jonathan stood up and scanned the faces aimed at him. Some were listening, others glowered at him as if he were crazy. He clapped his hands and said, "All right, people, here's the deal. You've heard what I intend, and how we're going to start. We'll be meeting again tomorrow morning. If you can't get behind it, then don't return. For those of you who can accept my plan, return tomorrow ready to work. This meeting is adjourned."

As they broke up, Arakawa got as close to Jonathan as she dared with Dicloni on either side of him and asked, "Is there someplace we can go to talk?"

Jonathan shrugged and said, "Sure, we're going to lunch. Want to come along?"

.

Kouta spend a very long day wondering who this guy was that Kaede was going to see. He skipped lunch, and his attempts at study was only to stare at the books and think about how stunning Kaede looked when she left this morning. Was it some arrangement her father had made up? Before, when she had gotten 'lost', he'd been nervous about something happening to her. He still remembered how terrible it felt when that professor had taken her from them. It was like he'd lost part of himself. This was different though, she wasn't lost, and no one was forcibly taking her away. She'd gone well dressed and with a smile on her face to meet someone who was obviously rich.

"Well, good for you," he whispered, then he felt his chest tighten again. He took a couple heavy breaths to keep from crying.

Kouta got up and decided to take a walk. It was obvious he wasn't going to get any studying done. Hands in his pockets, he wandered with his head down on his way out.

"Hey Kouta, look what I drew!" Nana said, showing him the pencil sketch she'd done of Mayu and Wanta.

Kouta looked up and offered a her a brief smile. "That's good, Nana," he said, and wandered on.

"Are you OK, Kouta?" Nana asked as she eyed him curiously.

"Yeah, fine," he said in a dull tone.

Ahead of him, he heard people talking.

"...And Nana can help with that. She did numb me once, we can just get her to show other people how," Kaede said eagerly.

"I like that idea, but the numbness only lasts for a short while, right?" Yuki asked.

"I'm sure if Nana is willing, someone can figure out how she does it to make it last longer," Jonathan said.

Kouta found them by the grandfather clock talking. His eyes locked on Kaede. No more had he focused on her, than she turned and looked at him with a bright smile. For some reason, the world seemed to vanish all around her. All he could see was Kaede's smile.

"Kouta, we had the most wonderful meeting," Kaede said as she approached.

They had gone to a meeting? "No yacht?" he asked blankly.

Kaede grinned and shook her head. Standing before him she said, "It was great! They had to sit and listen to US! I don't think some of them will be back, but there is at least one who is eager to help dad. Those like me won't be lab experiments any more, we'll be part of the ..."

Kouta didn't hear anything she said, other than the fact she wasn't on a date with some rich guy. In the middle of her words, he wrapped his arms around her and held her tight. "I love you, Kaede," he said clearly.

Kaede stood frozen for a second, then smiled and wrapped her arms around him. "I love you, Kouta. I'd like us to be together forever."

"I'd like that too."

Standing back, Jonathan noted Yuka had arrived as Kouta and Kaede made their confessions. After her initial gape, Yuka's face flushed red as she gritted her teeth. Jonathan stepped in front of her. Offering a smile, he put an arm around her and said, "Let's go have a talk."

Yuka gapped at him. In a flush of anger, she hauled back and slapped him hard. "This is all YOUR fault!" she screamed, then ran off crying.

Half turned by Yuka's slap, Jonathan noted everyone was now staring at him. He grimaced and waved at them and said, "It's OK, She's just a little upset right now."

.

"Drink?" Jonathan asked as he settled down beside Yuka in the garden where she sat with her knees drawn up to her chest as she hugged herself.

Casting Jonathan a scowl, she asked, "How could you do that to me? I've loved Kouta all my life, and you come and .." she then turned away from him to sob.

Jonathan opened a can and handed it to her. "You're Kouta's family, right?" he asked.

Yuka ignored the can. "Are you going to tell me that it's all for the best that SHE gets him?" she spat.

"Funny, I don't see it like that," Jonathan said, and tapped her leg with the can. "Come on, have some. If nothing else, you can throw it at me."

"What is it?"

"A saki mix. Fruit juice and just enough saki to give it a nice warm feeling."

Yuka snapped the can up and guzzled some. "You ... planned this, didn't you," she accused.

"Nope, I just kinda went with the flow," Jonathan said honestly. "Besides, you already have a relationship with Kouta that can never be taken away."

Yuka glared at him. "So you're taking my Kouta away, and trying to make me feel better about it, huh?"

"I'm not trying to take anyone from you. The fact is that you are a close relation to Kouta, you are and always will be his family. From what I know he doesn't have much of family left, so I imagine he really needs you to be there for him," Jonathan mussed.

Yuka took another guzzle of saki. "But, I wanted to be more than that. I've waited for him all this time! I love Kouta," she said with a sniff, then took another guzzle.

"As you should," Jonathan agreed. "But believe it or not, being family is more important that being a lover."

Yuka barked a laugh, and tried to drink from the can again. It was empty. Seeing her hold it upside down, Jonathan cracked the one he had gotten for himself, and gave it to her. Yuka grabbed this one and took another long pull. After a belch, Yuka mussed, "They have been through so much pain. I suppose now it's my turn." She then broke down and cried again.

Yuki came out to see what was going on. Jonathan send her after the rest of the six-pack, then fed Yuka one can at a time.


	6. Chapter 6

Kouta peeked out at the garden where Jonathan sat by Yuka as she cried her eyes out.

Placing a hand on his shoulder as she stood next to him, Kaede said, "Don't worry, he'll watch out for her."

"Yeah, I get the idea he doesn't let things go. I just wish Yuka wasn't so sad." Kouta mussed as he slipped an arm around Kaede.

"I don't deserve to be with you," Kaede said softly. "But with all of my heart I still want to be."

Shifting his gaze to Kaede, Kouta frowned and said, "I've heard some of what they put you through, and about that orphanage. Like I said before, we both have many sad memories. I don't want you to be sad any more."

"Nor do I want you to be sad," Kaede said, casting him a small grin.

Gazing at each other, they leaned closer and kissed. The kiss became deeper as they wrapped their arms around each other, savoring the sweet contact.

"Hey Kouta, is it OK if we fix dinner? We're getting hungry." Nana said from behind them.

.

Mr. Y. thought finding out what the 'Morningstar' code was, would be a difficult feat. To his utter surprise, before lunch an agent in England had the information, and sent him the details.

It was worse than he thought. All information about diclonius, Kakuzawa's research, treatment and disposition of dicloni was already sitting on the desks of every major world leader. With that information, the agent also discovered Jonathan was being paid by a few governments to find out the truth, and control the situation in Japan. If he should fail, then Morningstar would be initiated. Morningstar was a long list of actions against Japan, including possible armed invasion in order to take control of the diclonius and ensure they were not used as weapons. Jonathan was indeed holding a nuclear bomb over their head.

Mr. Y. knew Jonathan had another meeting planned today. He would ensure he was in attendance.

.

Jonathan walked to the conference room with Kaede, Yuki and Nana. Upon entering he noticed only half the number of people from yesterday. He also noted a few men by the door that had on nice blue suits, and bulges of holsters under their jackets. Searching for the reason behind the armed guards, he found Mr. Y. in his normal brown suit sitting a few seats down on the right. Upon meeting eyes, My. Y. got up and bowed.

"Good to see you are well, Jonathan. With your permission, I am taking extra care to ensure you have no reason to do anything rash. These men are bodyguards are for you and Kaede," My. Y. said pleasantly as he motioned to the armed men.

"Thank you for your concern," Jonathan replied, returning the bow.

"Guards for us?" Kaede asked quietly.

"He's scared, and that's good," Jonathan told her quietly. To everyone, he announced, "Good morning. This morning I've brought a girl who can help with the problem of numbing the pinel gland. Everyone, this is Nana," he said, motioning to Nana.

Jonathan pleasantly noted that there were no more glares at the horned girls. Although Nana was a bit shy when it came to talking in front of everyone, his staff listened to what she did say. In a short time, Arakawa and another man had made up a simple test to help demonstrate the 'light, firm touch' to the forehead Nana was talking about. It started with a few pieces of paper backed by cardboard that Nana touched with a vector, and with some quick figuring, they came up with a machine designed to accurately sense Nana's numbing touch.

The meeting moved along well. Nana agreed to participate in the numbing experiments, as did Yuki. Jonathan did note that the only other time Mr. Y. spoke was to forbid Kaede from being on the receiving end of any experiment.

The old question of how strong vectors really were came up, and how to measure them. Jonathan gave this task to a few scientist with two restrictions. There had to be positive guards to keep the diclonius from actually being hit by the projectile, and there had to be safety measures to ensure no one was at risk. He left them scratching their heads, and moved on to forming the task force to identify further dicloni births. By the end of the meeting, they were moving on to the mundane items of material and labor costs to get the machinery built.

.

After the meeting, Kaede and Nana went out to a clothing store nearby to see if they could find any kimonos. To Kaede's irritation, one of the blue suited bodyguards went with them. Passing a dojo, Kaede noted an odd sight through the large windows. On the practice mat stood Bando, with another man who had his right arm tied back.

"Is that Bando?" Nana asked as they stared through the window.

"I guess he got tired of the beach," Kaede said dryly. Seeing Bando notice them, she added, "We better go." They continued on and got to the end of the building when Bando's voice called out.

"Hey, bitch, stop right there!"

With a grumble, Kaede turned to face the man that surely had a gun. Their guard turned also and planted himself between them and Bando.

"Sir, you need to get back," the bodyguard said sternly as Bando approached.

Bando kicked him in the face. The bodyguard flew into the building, then dropped to the sidewalk, knocked cold. "Pissant," Bando growled at the unconscious man. Returning his attention to Kaede, he jabbed a finger at her and yelled, "Tell your father this isn't over yet! I'm in training now, and when I'm ready, I'll be by to kick his ass into the middle of next year! I'll fuck him up so bad he won't recognize himself!"

"You've got a job?" Nana asked curiously.

Bando glared at her, "I happen to be making some money teaching one-armed fighting to those punks. They got some kind of contest going, whatever. Mainly, I'm training to kick Jonathan's ass up one side and down the other."

"You really do know how to hold a grudge, don't you?" Kaede noted.

Squeezing his fist, Bando yelled, "Damn right I do! And after I teach your father a lesson, you'll be next!"

"Why not come after me now?" Kaede asked curiously.

"You really are a stupid bitch, aren't you? Your father wants me to go through him first, and that is exactly what I am going to do. NO ONE beats me and gets away with it!" Bando yelled.

"Well, good luck with your new job," Nana said cheerfully.

"I ain't doing this for the money! You tell him I'll be coming for him," Bando said, jabbing his finger at Kaede. He then turned and stormed back into the dojo.

Kaede watched him go, then looked down on the unconscious guard and let out a sigh. "So much for going to the store. Stay with him, I'll go call an ambulance."

.

Yuka sat on the other side of the library table from Kouta with their books spread out in front of them.

"I wonder how they are doing," Kouta mussed as he tapped a pencil.

Yuka flicked her eyes at him. "I'm sure they are fine. I doubt Jonathan would let anything happen to those girls," she said tonelessly.

"I just hope Kaede keeps her cool. Some of them may be the same people who held her prisoner. It would suck if she ..." he said and stopped, leaving his thought unfinished.

Yuka frowned for a moment, then asked, "Kouta if that was me, would you be so worried?"

Kouta looked up to see she was watching him. "If you were in trouble, of course I'd be worried."

"Even though I'm not your girlfriend?" Yuka asked with a touch of acid in her voice.

"Yuka! You're my cousin, you're about the only family I have left," Kouta said with a frown.

"Right," Yuka said with a sigh, and returned her attention to her books.

Kouta looked at his books, but couldn't seem to focus. He finally said, "You do know I care about you."

"Of course, I'm your cousin," Yuka said blankly.

Gripping his head, Kouta let out a growl of frustration. He tried studying again and failed. Quietly, he said, "I can only have one girlfriend, and Kaede really needs me."

"So do I," Yuka replied, and slammed her book shut. She got up and went to put the book away.

Kouta thought he had gotten a reprieve. He had just began to really concentrate on his studying when Yuka came back and pointedly dropped another book on the table.

After another uneasy moment, Yuka whispered, "I've waited for you for a long time. I refuse to give you up that easily."

"What do you want me to do?" Kouta asked in a cry of frustration. "I can't date you and Kaede, and I do love Kaede."

"Quiet please," the librarian said as she glared at Kouta from her desk.

"Sorry," Kota said with a blush.

"Do you love me?" Yuka asked as she thumbed through the new book.

"Yes, but.." Kouta started, then sat back and let out a long sigh. "Why are you doing this?" he asked.

"I'm terrified of loosing you," Yuka said softly as she thumbed through the pages.

"I'm not going anywhere," Kouta said evenly.

"Yes you are," Yuka replied. She stopped her page turning and frowned at him. "Just tell me, how can that girl just wash up on the beach one day and steal you from me? What is it about her that is so irresistible to you?"

Kouta dropped his head and let out another sigh. Leaning towards her, he clasped her hand. "Yuka, I've known Kaede almost as long as I've known you. There are ... things I can't tell you about, but understand I do love Kaede and I have for a long time. I really like you too, a lot. Even if you weren't my cousin, I'd want to be near you. I just can't have two girlfriends. I have to pick one."

Yuka nodded slowly. "Right, I get it. Jonathan decided for you." She then piled her books together, scooped them up and walked out.

Kouta dry washed his face with a groan. "Why does it have to be like this?" he asked.

.

Dinner that night was dominated by Nana's thrill of the day's events. Yuka sat focused on her plate as Nana told about those people listening to her and setting up experiments for her.

"And the best part is that they are nice to us!" Nana said happily. "Even Bando today didn't try to attack us, in fact he's got a job now."

Kaede let out a snort and said, "I hate to admit it, but Dad was right. Bando will leave us alone now. At least until he gets to fight Dad again."

"That's a good thing. I got the feeling Jonathan won't fight him any more," Kouta said.

"Where is Jonathan and Yuki?" Mayu asked, wondering if they were off being perverted someplace.

"Oh, they went out tonight. Dinner and a movie," Nana said cheerfully. "I bet they are having fun."

"At least he's not here," Yuka mumbled.

"Yuka!" Kouta said as he gapped at her.

Yuka only glanced up at him before returning her gaze to her plate.

"I take it you don't like Dad?" Kaede asked.

Yuka took a deep breath, then said, "It's fine, he's your father. Besides, I'll be moving out tomorrow."

"What!" Nana and Mayu cried in unison.

"Why?" Kouta asked as he gapped at her.

"You can't go!" Mayu cried. "Yuka, we need you."

"Yeah, who's going to be our mother if you leave?" Nana asked.

Yuka picked her plate up and stood. Casting the girls a weak smile, she said, "I am sure Kaede will do just fine." She then turned and left.

Mayu and Nana shifted their wide eyes to Kaede. "You have to stop her!" Mayu said fearfully.

"Yuka can't go! Kouta, please do something!" Nana said, pleading with him.

Kouta went to get up, and Kaede put a hand on his shoulder. "I'll do it. This is long overdue anyway."

.

Kaede went to the kitchen, but Yuka wasn't there. Searching, she found Yuka in her room, folding her clothes into a suitcase with a lost look on her face. "You can't go," Kaede said.

Yuka turned to eye her, then went back to emptying her drawers. With a halting breath, she said, "I have nothing left here. It's all yours now. Please take care of Kouta and the girls for me."

Yuka went to reach back into the drawer, and the drawers all shut themselves. Yuka pulled her hands back and gapped at them. "How..." she asked weakly.

Walking up to face Yuka, Kaede said, "I am sorry if you are hurt. I know what I feels like to watch Kouta be close to someone else. I had to watch you being together with him."

Looking into Kaede's stern gaze, Yuka returned the look and said, "Well, you don't any longer. You won, congratulations." Even as she said it, tears formed in her eyes again.

"I so want to slap you silly," Kaede growled. "You're wiling to give up Mayu and Nana so easily, just walk away from them and let them be sad because you're so damn selfish!"

"I'd like nothing more than to beat YOUR ass!" Yuka growled back. "But if I did, then Kouta would hate me for it."

"What do you think is stopping me?" Kaede asked. "He'd never forgive me if I balled you into a knot and stuffed your selfish ass in a garbage can where you belong! I thought you loved this family, but since you can't have your own way, you're going to run away crying like a spoiled little girl."

Clenching her teeth, Yuka balled her fists. "Don't tempt me to teach you a lesson," Yuka warned.

Kaede chucked, a low evil laugh. "Really? You think you stand a chance against me? All right, let's do it. If I win though, you have to stay, agreed?"

Yuka glared at Kaede and asked, "Why would you want me here? To be your maid?"

"I could care less what you do, but you are important to Kouta, Mayu and Nana," Kaede told her firmly. "The only way you're leaving is to get past me."

Yuka stared at Kaede. "Fine," she stated. Her face flaring with anger, she then swung up hard and smashed Kaede in the cheek with a fist. Kaede recoiled stumbling and fell by the door.

"You ASKED for that!" Yuka said, jabbing a finger at her.

Pushing herself up on an elbow, Kaede glared at Yuka through the stands of hair hanging over her face. An evil grin appeared on her lips. Her voice was smooth, yet malevolent. "Here we go, hope you're ready for this."

.

Kouta watched down the hallway, wondering how Kaede and Yuka's talk was going. Nana came up beside him and wrapped her arm around his.

"I hope Kaede can talk Yuka into staying," Nana said in a worried tone.

"Me too," Kouta said.

"What do you think they are doing in there?" Mayu asked as she came up beside Nana.

Yuka's door exploded into the hallway, spilling Yuka and Kaede out as they grappled with each other. Kaede got to her feet first, and grabbing the back of Yuka's shirt. She tried to fling Yuka back into the room. Yuka resisted, her shirt pulled half over her head and ripped. Kaede tried forcing Yuka to the floor with the grip on her shirt. Yuka shrugged out of her shirt and punched Kaede in the stomach. Kaede let out an 'oof', then kneed Yuka in the chest. As Yuka fell back, Kaede dove on her. They rolled on the floor, arms flailing as they slapped and punched each other.

"Ohh shit!" Kouta cried, and ran to break them up.

Kouta got close enough to grab Yuka, who now was on top, and tried to pull her off Kaede. Yuka shoved him to the side, then a vector pushed him back down the hall, knocking him down. Both glared at him and yelled, "Stay out of it!" Yuka balled a fist to hit Kaede, Kaede got her foot onto Yuka's stomach and kicked her back into her room. Kaede no more than got to her feet when Yuka sprang back out and punched her hard, knocking her back down.

"Please, STOP IT!" Mayu cried.

"Ohh! Kaede, please don't kill Yuka!" Nana cried.

Kaede kicked Yuka's feet from under her. Yuka fell to sit, Kaede grabbed a handful of hair and drove Yuka's head into the floor. Her own shirt hanging off her in tatters, Kaede looked up and snapped, "I'm not going to kill her, but ..."

Kaede's words were cut off as Yuka twisted around and kicked Kaede in the side. Yuka used a swath of Kaede's shirt to pull herself up. Kaede used her grip on Yuka's hair to force her back down, ripping the remains of her shirt away.

Kouta watched helplessly as they punched, kicked, and slapped each other with a ferocity he could only gape at. Yuka knocked Kaede into a wall face first and dove on her. Yuka quickly grabbed Kaede from behind by her bra straps and with a scream, flung her into Mayu's door, which snapped her bra. Kaede hit the door and crashed through. Kaede then shot back out to grab Yuka's bra straps right above the cups and flung Yuka into a wall, which broke Yuka's bra straps. Before Yuka could recover, Kaede dropped and rammed into Yuka's stomach with her shoulder and drove her into the remains of Mayu's door, which burst inward as they disappeared from sight.

"Wow," Kouta said as he blushed.

"Kouta, stop them!" Mayu cried.

"What's going on?" Jonathan asked as he and Yuki came up behind them. From Mayu's room the sound of furniture being smashed sounded. A small table leg tumbled into the hall.

Nana turned and said, "Yuka and Kaede are fighting, someone has to stop them!"

Jonathan looked at the broken debris in the hallway and asked, "Is Kaede using her vectors?"

"No, it doesn't look like it," Nana admitted.

Giving a shrug, Jonathan said, "Then let them work it out for themselves. Get some bandages, aspirin and wound cream ready, it looks like they will need it."

"Don't tell me you're not even going to try to stop this!" Kouta said in a gasp.

Jonathan chuckled and said, "Boy, you've got a lot to learn. Get into the middle of that, and you will get hurt. This is their argument, let them finish it." Seeing Mayu scowl up at him, Jonathan added, "Once they work it out, they'll be fine."

.

Topless, with only the waistband of her skirt left, and bleeding from her nose and the corner of her mouth, Kaede sat on Yuka, holding Yuka's arms out by the wrists as she panted heavily. Under her, Yuka, also topless and having only shreds of her skirt left, lay bleeding from the corners of her mouth, nose and one ear. Yuka's ragged breaths panted in time with Kaede's.

"Are ... you ... done ... yet?" Kaede asked in between breaths.

Too tired to fight any longer, Yuka panted out, "Why ... why do you ... want me to stay... so bad?"

"Kouta loves you... he wants you to stay ... that's why," Kaede said in her own tired voice. She swallowed a mix of spit and blood, then added, "What Kouta wants ... Kouta gets."

Yuka lay looking up at Kaede. "You do love Kouta very much," she said in a pant.

Kaede nodded, then dropped to the side. Turning her head to look at Yuka, she said, "That's why you can't go. You are important to all of us, especially Kouta."

Yuka frowned, then winced. "So what do we do now?"

"I don't know. If you go, Kouta will be sad. I can't have that."

Yuka looked down on herself, then at Kaede's body, both were covered more with marks and scratches than any clothing. "We better put something on, or that pervert will see us," she noted.

"So what? He will anyway," Kaede said with a tired huff.

Jonathan's voice called from the hallway, "Hey! You girls OK in there?" Steps announced he was approaching.

Heart in her throat, Kaede noted Nana and Mayu's bath robes hanging on hooks on the wall. She shot a vector out and grabbed them, tossing one to Yuka. Quickly, they sat up and covered themselves.

"How did you do that?" Yuka asked.

From around the corner outside the door, Jonathan called, "Got some concerned people out here waiting to patch you up if you need it. That is, unless you're not done with your argument yet."

Kaede looked at Yuka. "Well?" she asked.

Yuka nodded. "Yes, we're done. I'm staying," she conceded.

"All right!" Nana and Mayu cried in unison. Nana ran around the corner and stopped short upon seeing them. "You two look awful," she said.

Appearing to gape at them, Mayu said, "Kouta went to get you medicine. Please don't fight any more."

Stepping in, Nana looked at Kaede and said, "Thank you for not killing Yuka."

Yuka let out a tired laugh. "I will take a lot more than that to kill me."

Kaede looked over at a chunk of wood on the floor. Using a vector, she lifted it and shattered it into splinters. "I can do that any time I like," she said as she looked at Yuka. "I didn't want to damage you, only stop you from leaving us."

From the hallway, Jonathan announced, "All right, it's over. Hug, shake hands, whatever you're going to do. Make peace and don't let this happen again."

Holding Mayu's robe to her chest, Kaede got up with the help of her vectors, then extended Yuka a hand. "Peace, sister?" she asked.

Yuka took her hand. She struggled up, and after a pause of studying Kaede, she hugged her. "Peace, sister," she said sincerely.

Kaede felt she owned Yuka something, so she said, "If it makes it any better, I'll share Kouta with you. You can't have him for yourself, but if he ... is inclined to be with you from time to time, that's fine."

"You'd do that?" Yuka asked in amazement.

"If that's what Kouta wants."

.

"It only makes sense," Mayu said as she helped Nana get breakfast ready. "Jonathan solves his problems by fighting, so now Kaede does the same thing."

"But she DID get Yuka to stay with us, and she didn't really hurt Yuka. Mayu, we both know that Kaede could have chopped Yuka in half any time she wanted to." Nana told her.

Mayu scooped the fish from the pan and scowled at Nana. "But I heard Jonathan tell her he was proud of her. What kind of father praises his child for fighting?"

Nana giggled and replied, "I think he was praising her for not using her vectors to seriously hurt Yuka. I mean, for a fight involving Kaede, that was pretty mild."

"I suppose so," Mayu begrudgingly admitted.

The kitchen door opened, an Yuki came in, wearing a business suit. "Hi girls, can I help?"

"Sure! We're ready to fill the plates. You can help take them in for us," Mayu said cheerfully.

"WOW you look nice!" Nana said as she smiled at Yuki. "Do I go with you today?"

"Not until those men finish their machines. Today Jonathan said it's mostly going to be boring stuff. I'm only going because we're going to pick up Ayami and her parents." Yuki said.

.

Kouta sat at the breakfast table by Kaede on the end, and Yuka on the other side of him. He had trouble looking at either of them. The ugly bruise on Kaede's cheek that crept up to blacken her left eye was a little worse than the one on her forehead. He was glad the white collar of a bandage she wore on her neck hid the swollen red scratches, he'd seen enough of those. Yuka was in no better shape, her bloodshot right eye was swollen almost shut, she was missing a patch of hair, her lip bore an ugly purple bruise, and he didn't even want to think about where those red claw marks that descended onto her chest ended.

"Ahhh, nothing like a good breakfast to start the day. Thank you, Mayu and Nana, you did really well!" Jonathan announced.

"I could have done it," Yuka said.

"No, you need to rest," Mayu told her. "There's no school today, Nana is going to help me with the house. I'm fix you another cold pack for that eye, and one for you too, Kaede. You both look terrible."

Shifting her gaze between Yuka and Kaede, Nana asked, "So you got things worked out, right? Are you friends now?"

"Sisters," Yuka said with a tiny grin, then winced and touched her lip.

"Sisters?" Kouta asked, finally looking at Yuka.

"Yes, we can disagree, but we will watch out for each other," Kaede explained.

"And we can share," Yuka said, casting Kaede a smirk. She then winced again.

"You mean like share clothes and things like me and Mayu do?" Nana asked eagerly.

Kaede flicked her eyes at Kouta and said, "Everything, yes."

"HUH?" Jonathan said as he stared at her.

Casting him a crooked grin, Kaede asked, "Do you want details?"

Jonathan's face flushed as he gapped at her. "Ahhh, no, NO! Thanks for breakfast, I ... have to get some things ready for today. I'll meet you in the entry, Yuki." Jonathan said as he got up, bowed quickly, and left.

Kaede watched him go, the let out a chuckle. "I don't believe it. I found something that rattles my father."


	7. Chapter 7

Jonathan sat behind his desk trying to ignore the paperwork he had to do. Shaking his head, he muttered, "I can't believe I'm becoming a bureaucrat. I'd rather go another round with Bando, that to do this shit." He scanned the desk full of paperwork, he rubbed his face. It didn't work, when he opened his eyes, it was still there.

On the speaker of his intercom, the secretary said, "Mr. Yamakura is here to see you, sir."

"Great, send him in," Jonathan replied, and quickly dug around and found the man's resume.

Mr. Yamakura entered and bowed. "Greetings Mr. Spangler. Thank you for this opportunity."

"You're most welcome, Mr. Yamakura, please come sit," Jonathan said all smiles. He noted the man was neatly dressed and groomed. Looking at the resume, he added, "This is impressive. You have a good background in engineering, and you've designed several automated systems. Have you been informed of what we do here?"

Taking his seat, Mr. Yamakura said, "I'm sorry sir. I've tried to investigate exactly what it is you do, but all I could discover is that this is a medical research facility for special needs. If I were to venture a guess, I would say you design prosthetic limbs, or hearts. I am sure I could be of service to you."

"You can be, very much so," Jonathan assured him. Looking intently at him Jonathan asked, "Tell me, Mr. Yamakura, have you every heard of, or had any experience with children who bear horns and have incredible mind powers?"

Mr. Yamakura stared at him. Slowly, his face relaxed into a sad look. "I have, it was ... most unpleasant. I lost my first wife," he said slowly.

"I know how that feels, I lost my wife also," Jonathan said sympathetically. "My daughter was born with the horns. She taken away to a place where they experimented mercilessly on her. Many girls were taken, very few lived. They died in horrible ways as lab experiments."

Mr. Yamakura frowned and asked, "So, your daughter died?"

Jonathan shook his head and explained, "My Kaede survived the loneliness, the torture... I feel bless to have her back now." Sporting a smile, he added, "She's something to see, bright and beautiful. She has a good sense of honor also. I couldn't be happier with her."

Sitting up to eye him, Mr. Yamakura asked, "She is free now? She lives with you?"

"Oh yes," Jonathan said happily. "Well, to tell the truth I live with her and her boyfriend at the moment. He's just a normal human guy, but they get along well. You see Mr. Yamakura, we've found that at an early age, these children's bodies are not only growing, but this mental ability is also. Therein lies the true problem. Just like any children, they are not fully aware of what they do." Waving an arm out, he said, "They may try to say, reach out for someone, or push them with these mental hands, and suddenly SPLAT! They just killed that person in a pretty gruesome way. They didn't mean to do it, they are just too young to comprehend their power or the consequences of their actions. That is the main thing we're trying to stop, the accidental deaths of parents and siblings of these kids."

"Yes, my wife died the same way," Mr. Yamakura said sadly. Giving Jonathan an intent look, he added, "If there is anything I can do, I will put all my effort into keeping things like that from happening."

"And I suppose you already understand that when a child does accidentally take a life, they grieve over what they did for a very long time. I know Kaede has a real hard time letting people forgive her. I also know of another girl who would do anything to get some forgiveness from her father," Jonathan said as he eyed Mr. Yamakura.

"I suppose it is hard for them too," Mr Yamakura said in a far off tone. "Unfortunately, some of us will never have that chance. Gazing out the window, he said, "I do at times wish I could ... speak to my daughter."

"Do you mean that?" Jonathan asked.

Mr. Yamakura returned his gaze to Jonathan as his face shifted to a knowing look. "You, I remember your voice. You're the one who called and told me Yuki is alive."

"That she is, and knowing her, I know she would really like to see you," Jonathan told him.

"You know my Yuki? I take it she made it out of that place alive. How is she?"

"You can find that out for yourself," Jonathan said, then pushed the intercom. "Could you send Yuki in please?"

"She's here?" Mr. Yamakura asked in a gasp.

Jonathan pointed to the side door just as Yuki stepped in.

Mr. Yamakura got up and turned to face her.

"What did you ..." Yuki asked and stopped short. Staring at her father, Yuki asked in a weak voice, "Papa?" She then took a step back and yelled at Jonathan. "Why did you do this! I told you he has gone through enough agony already, WHY MAKE HIM SUFFER!"

"Yuki," Mr Yamakura said as he held up his hands. "Please, tell me, is it really you?"

Yuki turned around and hid her face. "Damn you, Jonathan!" she cried.

Mr. Yamakura walked towards his sobbing Yuki and put his arms around her. "I am the one who should be sorry, my daughter. I tried to forgot about you, I tried ... to make you into a demon. What happened, that was an accident?"

Yuki nodded, then spun in place and threw her arms around him. "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry!" she cried in a wailing sob. "I killed mom, I deserved to be taken away! I'm so sorry!"

Jonathan got up and walked to the door, patting Yuki's father on the back as he passed them. "You're hired. Use my office, take all the time you need." He left them in an embrace and shut the door to give them some private time.

.

Jonathan went to see how Ayami was doing with the engineers. Ayami stood by the model table with the men who were designing it. Upon seeing him come in, a bright smile lit Ayami's face. She ran over and hugged him.

"Jonathan, you have to come see this!" she said happily as she towed him over to explain. "This isn't one of those chambers, it's more like a baseball game! See, that thing is the pitcher, and I'll be standing behind this thing that kinda looks like a batters' mound, looking over the top. When the metal ball comes, it will fly close, but even if I can't stop it, it will go right by me. Just like a baseball player who gets a strike. If I can whack it, then it will hit one of these plates over on this side, or back here. Even if I can only deflect it, they can tell how far, so we can make a game out of seeing how far I can get it," she said in a long run of words.

"Very impressive," Jonathan said, smiling at her. Turning to the head engineer, he asked, "And there is no chance of Ayami being hit?"

The more serious man said, "No, sir. As you instructed, I will stand in the test subject square when we do the final testing of the device to be sure there is no chance of contact with the projectile. This device will be safe for everyone involved."

"Oh Jonathan, I almost forgot to tell you! Mom and Dad said that I have to wait until I finish school before we get married. My tutor said that I am doing good, I should be able to go to school and graduate with my brother. You'll wait for me until then, won't you?" Ayami asked in her hurried speech.

Looking at her happy, expectant face, Jonathan said, "I'm not going anywhere but you do know I plan to marry Yuki, right?"

Ayami bobbed her head vigorously. "Yes! Yuki said you'd be easier to handle with two of us. I'm not sure what she means, but we've already decided and she said she'll wait for me too. I forgot to ask, but can we all have dinner together tonight?"

"Yuki is talking to her father right now, we'll make plans later, OK?"

"She is? That's great! We were going to go look at the place where this is going to be built, wanna come with us?" Ayami asked as she tugged him along.

"I guess I have no choice," Jonathan said with a chuckle.

.

Kaede sat holding her shirt in front of her as Kouta gingerly reapplied the bandage to her neck. Once he had it taped in place, he slowly peeled the bandages off her back that hid the long dig marks there.

"These looking better," Kouta said as carefully washed the angry red marks. "You and Yuka got things worked out, no more fighting, right?" he asked.

Kaede glanced back at him. "It was something we had to do. Don't forget to that care of Yuka after you're done with me," she reminded him.

Kouta paused at putting the cream on her. With a wince he asked, "You ... really meant that about sharing me with her?"

"Unless you don't want to. But if Yuka is important to you, then you need to spend some time with her," Kaede said, then turned to face him. "But don't go thinking that I don't want you spending all your time with her. I'd really like you spending most of your time with me. I'm just saying don't forget about her." Kaede said as if scolding him.

Kouta's face spread into a smile as he said, "You do have a big heart, Kaede."

Kaede returned his smile. It faded into a more serious look as she said, "I love you, Kouta. At first, I only wanted to be here with you. I've come to realize that I like our family, and I want us all to stay together. You will help me with that, won't you?"

Cupping her face, Kouta kissed her softly, making sure he avoided her bruises. "Of course I will, my love."


	8. Chapter 8

Kaede turned to one side, then the other, looking at herself in the triple mirror. The long white gown was form fitting around her torso, then blossomed full to the floor. Although the gown was sleeveless, the long white gloves came up to mid-bicep. The drop of the 'V' neck was just enough to show the top of her chest where the silver necklace lay.

"Don't forget the veil," Nana said as she held out the veil and train.

Kaede put it on. Nana helped her string the gossamer train out behind, then clapped her hands in joy. "You look so pretty Kaede! I think Kouta will love it. When are you getting married?"

Making minor adjustments to the veil, Kaede said, "A week after Kouta's graduation. We'll have two weeks before Kouta starts his job." A pleasant smile lit her face. She was going to be Kouta's wife, she was going to be together with Kouta forever. "I can't wait," she whispered to herself.

A policeman came up and said, "Excuse me, are you two Nana and Kaede?"

"Yes," Nana said tentatively.

The policeman bowed and motioned to the door. "We have a problem Mr. Spangler has requested your help with. There is a car waiting to take you to the scene," he explained.

Kaede let out a huff. "So much for the day off," she grumbled, and stomped back into the changing room.

.

The children's park was ringed with police who were keeping onlookers clear. The park itself was empty, except for a pair of small bodies near the swing sets. One young boy lay headless, the other lay cut in two.

Johnathan, in his wild multicolored shirt shorts and sandals, walked in to sit on the ground a short distance away from a rounded play hut. He pulled out a bag of candies and ate one. With a shiver, he said, "Wow, these good!"

As he suspected, a pink head with horns poked out from inside the play hut. He smiled at the little girl and held the bag out. "You like yummies?" he asked.

The girl disappeared from view.

"Yummies good! No want yummies?" he asked.

"Go away or I'll hurt you," the girl said in a sad sounding voice.

"What I do?" Johnathan asked in surprise. "I just eat yummies. You can eat yummies too."

"Why are you here?" the girl asked.

"I come eat yummies. I thought I eat yummies alone, but you here too," Johnathan said happily.

There was silence for a moment, then the girl said, "Those men will shoot at you if you stay. You better go."

"For eating yummies?" Johnathan asked in disbelief.

"Just ... go eat someplace else! It's dangerous here," the girl yelled to him.

"Can't go, promised daughter I be here to meet her," Johnathan replied. "I go, she be lost."

"Please leave," the girl whined.

"You sound sad," Johnathan said, the happily added, "Come eat yummies, you feel better!"

"Go away!" the girl cried.

Johnathan looked over at the ring of nervous policemen who had their guns out and pointing in their direction. "Men look angry. I hope they not angry at me. Make me want to hide."

"You should go, they will try to hurt you," the girl said.

"What about daughter?"

"Are you retarded or something?" the girl asked.

"Know not what that is. I ask daughter when she comes. Daughter really smart, look like you," Johnathan said confidently.

"She does?"

"Daughter is much taller, but her hair pink darker, and her nubs got knocked off, but she can do things I not."

The girls' hand appeared to wave him into the play hut. "Come in here, it's not safe out there," the girl said.

"You eat yummies with me?" Johnathan asked.

"Yes, come here!"

Johnathan got up and went over to the play hut. Kneeling down, he looked in and frowned. "No room," he said sadly. He took note the girl was huddled into the corner and had blood spatter on her dress. He figured she wasn't more than six. He then felt her grab his arms with her vectors and pull on him. He crawled into the small space. He had to duck, but managed to sit up. He smiled and held the bag out to her.

"Eat yummies with me!" he said happily. He ate one, then took another candy out and handed it to her.

"Good, huh?" he asked as she ate it.

The girl nodded. She reached for the bag, he tipped it to her so she could get another. He then frowned and asked, "You hurt? Got blood on you."

"No, that was from those bullies," she said with a frown as she grabbed a candy.

Johnathan watched her eat the candy, then quickly grab another. She was obviously hungry. She then got a surprise look on her face and looked at the hut wall.

"Who is that?" she asked quietly.

Johnathan laughed and said, "That wall, not person!"

"No, I ... sense someone outside," the girl said vacantly.

"Ahhh I know!" Johnathan said. "You like Kaede! Kaede knows when Nana comes. Kaede can sense Nana coming before I see her." He bend low and peeked out the arched doorway. All but bend in half, he looked to see Kaede and Nana by the policemen. Sticking his arm out, he waved clumsily. "Kaede! Kaede here!" he called.

Kaede and Nana walked into the park. Tipping her head, Kaede asked, "What are you doing?"

"Sharing yummies with girl..." Johnathan said. He frowned and looked at the girl. "What you name?"

"Minori."

"I share yummies with Minori!" Johnathan said.

"Dad, come out of there, bring Minori with you," Kaede said with a huff.

Johnathan struggled back out and held his hand out for Minori. Minori emerged, staring at Kaede.

"You're like me," Minori said in wonder.

Kaede offered her a smile. Glancing over at the dead boys, she asked, "What happened here?"

Minori frowned and said, "They wouldn't leave me alone. They kept on calling me names and throwing stuff at me."

"Minori, where are your parents?" Nana asked.

Minori shrugged and said, "They left. I haven't seen them in a long time. I went out to see if I could find them after the food was gone, but..." She became quiet and forced back some tears.

"They were afraid of you," Kaede stated.

Minori nodded. "I promised I'll be good if they come back," she offered.

Kaede offered her a hand and said, "Why don't you come with us. I'll keep the bullies away from you, and we can look for your parents."

"And we can eat yummies," Johnathan added.

.

Kaede knew her father was playing the idiot to keep Minori calm. Although it seemed to work fine, she was tiring of his act by the time they got to the center. She took the bag of 'yummies' and told him he was going to ruin his dinner, then had Nana take him to 'his room', while she took Minori to the cafeteria for some real food.

Minori stayed beside Kaede watching people as they stood in line. Several people greeted Kaede and Ayami came bouncing up to fuss over cute little Minori. By the time they got their food and sat down, Minori was no longer acting skittish.

Sitting down at a table, Minori inhaled the lunch. Once she had finished, she asked Kaede, "Did your mom raise you?"

"My mother died. I was raised in an orphanage. It wasn't until recently I found my father," Kaede explained.

"Yeah, I guess your dad couldn't do it," Minori mussed.

Kaede let out a huff and explained, "He's not that dumb. That was an act to get you to relax. He's really very intelligent, Minori. He started this center so people like us have a place to go to. He cares a lot about us." Looking at Minori, she asked, "Would you like to live with me?"

Minori looked away and asked, "You won't run away on me?"

"Why would I?"

"Kaede, HI!" Yuki called cheerfully as she came over with an older man. Setting her tray down, she asked, "Have you met my Dad yet?"

"Yamakura Akio, correct? Please to meet you," Kaede said, bowing her head.

"Please to meet you, Kaede-san," Mr. Yakamura replied with a bow. "Is this your daughter?" he asked.

"This is Minori," Kaede told him.

"Such a cute girl," Yuki said, then asked Minori, "How old are you?"

"Six," Minori said, then asked Kaede, "Will you be my mom now?"

"IF we cannot find your real parents," Kaede explained.

Minori looked at Yuki and asked Kaede, "Are there a lot of us here?"

"A few. Myself, Yuki here, Nana and Ayami, and now you."

With a big smile, Yukai said, "Wait until you see the room we have for practicing with your vectors. It's a lot of fun, but you can't use them on people."

"That's right, no more hitting people with vectors," Kaede said firmly. Anticipating her next question, Kaede said, "That what we call the hands you have no one else can see."

"What if there are more bullies?" Minori asked.

"There are no bullies here. If anyone bothers you, let me, Yuki or Nana know. We'll take care of it," Kaede told her.

"Or Johnathan," Yuki added.

"The dummy?" Minori asked.

Yuki gapped at her, then laughed. "He did that act again, huh?"

"Yes," Kaede said with a sigh. "What makes me wonder, is he is really good at it."

.

Kouta sat with his books out, studying for the final exam. His grades hadn't been the best from all the distractions, and he was worried. With Kaede and Nana out of the house, and Mayu at school, it was a nice quiet day to get some serious study time in.

Yuka came in and sat down across from him. "Anything I can do to help?" she asked.

"No," he mussed, "but thank you anyway."

Yuka sat quietly for a moment, then said, "You really are going to marry Kaede, aren't you?"

Suddenly, Kouta saw his study time slipping away. "Yes," he said in a huff.

"What's the rush," Yuka asked. "I mean it's not like either of you are going anywhere. Are you?"

"No, we're not," Kouta assured her. Trying to summon up a good reason that Yuka could deal with, he said, "Mayu and Nana need a real set of parents. I mean it's been fine like we have been so far, but the school has been asking about Mayu's mother..."

"Mayu said she considers me as her mother," Yuka said in a off hand, but very pointed way.

Squirming in place, Kouta wasn't sure what to say to that. Yuka was right, Mayu considered him as her father, and Yuka as her mother.

Letting out a false laugh, Yuka said, "You could just marry both of us."

"That's ... not legal," Kouta said. He was happy it wasn't too. Then again, it would make handling Yuka a lot easier since Kaede insisted she stay.

"It's not common, but there IS a trio in Honshu that did it a few years back," Yuka replied.

"I didn't hear about that," Kouta said warily.

"Oh yes!" Yuka said, and told him the story. "This guy was dating two girls who were good friends. The girls knew they both liked the same man, they also were close to each other. Instead of forcing him to choose between them, they decided to force him to marry both, or neither of them. Their wedding has been on TV and in the papers."

"How did they get away with it?"

"Apparently, the old laws are still active. The guy was a land owner, and by the old Endo laws, landowners are allowed to have more than one wife if they grow crops," Yuka explained.

Kouta shrugged and said, "I don't own any land, and I don't know how to farm."

"So learn!" Yuka prodded. "It would also be good to get the kids out into the country, don't you think?"

Although Yuka was doing her best to sound happy, Kouta could see in her face she was desperately searching for a way to at least stay on an even footing with Kaede in his eyes. It did tear at his heart to see her like this. He also didn't think Kaede would like Yuka being a 'second wife'. Clearing his throat, he said, "Yuka, I had to make a choice. It wasn't easy, but I made my choice and I have to stick by it."

"I'm just saying there is a way where you won't have to choose."

To appease Yuka so he could get back to studying, Kouta said, "I'll look into farming, and ask Kaede about it. She will have to go along with the idea. Will that do for now?"

"That would be fine," Yuka assured him. Getting up, she then added, "I'll find out about any land for sale."


	9. Chapter 9

**Non-story note. The Nyu Anime site **(formerly Elfen Lied fansite) **has either crashed, or is suffering problems. If it does not come back up on line, I will create -or help create another ****EL site if people wish it. STay tuned for info.**

"Woohooo, look at them legs!"

"Hey baby, lift that skirt."

The teenage boys leaning against the store front kept making cat calls as Kaede Nana and Minori approached. Between Kaede and Nana, Minori held their hands a little tighter.

Kaede pointed to the boys and said to Minori, "Watch how I handle this."

"Yeah, come handle me, Babay!" one boy yelled as the others laughed.

Kaede offered them an evil grin. "Do I sweep you off your feet?" she asked, then sent a vector out behind their feet and whipped it out, knocking their feet out from under them.

The boys fell with shocked looks on their faces.

Pointing to the closest one Kaede said, "You can have the honor of licking my feet." She grabbed the boy with her vectors and dragged him to her. The boy screamed and flailed, and ended up face down at Kaede's foot.

"Lick, or else," she commanded. The other boys got up and ran away.

"Hey, I didn't mean it... someone help me!" the boy cried.

Kaede lifted his head with her vectors and planted it on top of her foot. "Lick, or you'll be screaming for real," she warned.

The boy gritted his teeth and said, "I'm sorry!"

"Lick!"

The boy's tongue came out. He licked her shoe. Kaede then threw him to the side. "NEVER bother us again," she said sternly.

Gapping at her from where he lay against the building, the boy threw his hands up and cried, "I won't I swear!"

Minori giggled.

Satisfied her point was made, Kaede continued on with Minori. Nana eyed Kaede and said, "That was mean."

"And he will remember that and tell others," Kaede stated. Looking down at Minori, she added, "When you kill, you only make people want to get rid of you. Scare them, and then they will leave you alone."

"That was funny, Kaede," Minori said with another giggle.

"That was a lesson. You don't have to kill to get people to stop bothering you."

.

Johnathan tracked down Minori's parents much quicker than what he had anticipated. Both were in the hospital, her father was in a coma. He made a few calls and got a detective that knew what happened.

"Mr. Spangler, the Goto's were found three blocks from their house, bleeding internally. Someone crushed them, they both had broken ribs. Mr. Goto barely made it to the hospital alive, he's in a coma now. Mrs. Goto is conscious, but is bed ridden. She has spinal cord damage. She's recently been transferred to a nursing home. We looked for their child, Minori, but she has disappeared," the detective explained.

"I found their daughter today. She is safe. Is Mrs. Goto able to speak? I really need to talk to her."

The detective let out a huff and said, "She is conscious, but what she says is not very believable. She claims her and her husband got those injuries when their daughter hugged them. This is a little kid we're talking about."

"It's possible. Minori is six years old, but she does have ... special abilities. She could have well crushed them by accident," Johnathan explained.

The detective snorted and asked, "What is she, super strong?"

"Something like that. We have her here at the Kamakura medical center for special needs. I've submitted a request to take responsibility for her care. Do you have the phone number for Mrs. Goto?"

Johnathan got the number and called the nursing home. He got a brief version of what had happened, then assured Mrs. Goto her daughter was well, and promised to bring her by so Mrs. Goto could see her. Next he called Mr. Y to inform him of the situation to be sure no police came looking to arrest Minori. Mr. Y assured him his request to take responsibility for Minori would be handled with all speed.

.

"A house in the country?" Kaede asked as she got the dinner plates down.

"I think that would be fun," Mayu said as she helped Yuka get the food together.

"It might, but that would be a long distance to travel every day to get to the center," Kaede mussed. Raising an eyebrow, she asked, "Kouta said he wants to do that?"

"He was just thinking about it," Yuka admitted. "Nothing planned."

Kaede took the plates to the dinning room, wondering if something like that would work. Having lots of room would be relaxing, and she was sure Mayu and Nana would love it. Still, it would be a long daily train ride back and forth to the center.

After she put the plates down, Kaede went to get Kouta and Minori for dinner. Kouta had his books open, though instead of studying, he was listening to Minori talk about her parents.

"... And Papa works at this big factory!" Minori said, spreading her arms out wide. "He comes home smelling funny, but he says he likes it." Seeing Kaede come in, Minori pointed to her and said, "And Kaede says she's going to find out where Mama and Papa went."

"We will do our best to find them," Kaede assured her. Putting a hand on Kouta's shoulder, she said, "Dinner time. Do you remember where the dinning room is, Minori?"

"Yup! It's three doors down that way," Miori said as she pointed the way.

"Very good. We'll be along, I want to speak to Kouta first."

After Minori left, Kaede asked, "What's this about living in the country?"

Kouta let out a sigh and explained the conversation he and Yuka had.

.

Johnathan knocked on the door frame of Mrs. Goto's room. "Mrs. Goto? I am Johnathan, I called earlier about Minori?"

The woman in bed waved him in. "Yes, please come in. You found Minori?"

Johnathan entered and sat on a chair by the bed. "Yes, Ma'am. She's with my daughter now, she's safe. I understand Minori got a little over anxious in hugging you."

"It wasn't her fault," Mrs. Goto said quickly. "I was aware she could do ... things. I just never imagined the power she had. She didn't mean to hurt us."

"That's what I gathered," Johnathan agreed. "What are the chances of your recovery? Is your paralysis permanent?"

Mrs. Goto offered him a weak smile. "I'm afraid so. The nerves in my back are severed. The vertebra have been repaired as much as possible. It's such a pain, I swear I can feel tingles and pains in my legs, but I can't move them. I won't be much good as a mother any more."

"You'll always be Minori's mother," Johnathan assured her. "And we'll help take care of Minori for you. The real reason I came, is to find out if you still want to be with your daughter."

Casting him a shocked look, Mrs. Goto said, "Of course I do! I felt so bad knowing Minori was home all alone, and to find out she went missing, I was at wits end. I just don't know how we're going to live."

"I'll take care of that. There is room at the center for you and Minori. I'd really like to transfer you there. I'll work out the finances and details, if that's all right with you."

"That would be wonderful," Mrs. Goto said. She then asked warily, "But I wonder why you would go through so much trouble for us."

"My daughter is like Minori. The center we work at studies children like Minori and Kaede, and soon we hope to start special education for them as well as parents so everyone knows the dangers," Johnathan explained.

"There are other children like that too?"

"Yes, and some really sad stories, worse than yours. I hate to say it like this, but you have personal experience with a diclonius child. You could help other parents understand what they are dealing with."

Mrs. Goto thought for a moment, then said, "All right, I'll do what I can to help."

"Thank you, Mrs. Goto. I'll be in touch very soon."

.

Kakuzawa lay in the private hospital bed, plotting his revenge. He had no sight except the irritating pulsing light flashes that would not go away. He could hear, and could get rough out words now, but he was still bedridden from most of his joints being fused together after bullets had ripped them apart. The painkillers took the edge off the constant burning pains, but no amount of drugs could silence his screaming joints completely.

He didn't know that man's name, but he knew his face. He also remembered this 'pissed off father' that attacked him was Lucy's father. He wondered if the man was still alive now. He hoped so. He hoped even more that once all the surgeries were over, the man was locked up in a cell someplace. He would make that man suffer! Although the island was gone, Kakuzawa had other resources to tap, and he would tap them all to make that man suffer.


	10. Chapter 10

"Is that Mama?" Minori asked as she pointed at the ambulance pulling into the half-circle driveway.

"Yes, dear, and you must be very careful with her, OK? Very light touching only, your mother is fragile," Kaede told her.

"Only hug her with the hands people can see," Yuki coached from her other side.

Minori watched eagerly as medics opened the back, and pulled the stretcher out. "Momma?" she called.

Mrs. Goto turned her head to see Minori. A smile lit her face. "Minori!" she cried happily.

Minori ran over and rose up onto the stretcher. Pausing, she hugged her mother gently. "Momma, I missed you so much!"

"I missed you too, dear."

"Is daddy coming too? Can we go home now?" Minori asked.

"I'm sorry dear. Daddy is ... still in the hospital. We're going to live here for a while."

"Then you can meet my new friends!" Minori said. Sitting up on the edge of the stretcher,she pointed over to Yuki and Kaede. "That's Kaede, and that is Yuki. They're like me, momma. Kaede is teaching me how to do things and not hurt people. Her daddy is really funny, he acts like he's dumb, but he's not."

"Welcome, MRS. Goto," Kaede said with a bow.

Mrs. Goto studied Yuki, then Kaede. "You both can do things like Minori can?" she asked.

"And so can Nana and Ayami!" Minori added.

"Yes, and we can teach Minori to be more careful," Yuki said.

"Thank you for taking care of Minori," Mrs. Goto told them.

"I'm just glad we found her," Kaede replied. "Yuki is going to take you up to your apartment. I'll be by later on with Dad once you're settled in."

""Is he going to bring yummies?" Minori asked hopefully.

Kaede smiled ah her and said, "I'll be sure he does."

Kouta walked home worried. He'd turned in his last final test for the day, and he wished he could take it back and recheck it one more time. As his mind ran through his answers, he found himself also worrying what he'd do if he failed and had to return another year. His reserve money was all but non-existent, he didn't have the money for another year of college. Kaede would not be happy, he knew she had her wedding dress picked out and was looking forward to their wedding day. Although he loved all those girls, he was finding living costs were very expensive, even though everyone did their best to keep the costs down. Surely, Yuka's mother wasn't going to let them live at the Maple Inn forever. It was only to help him get through college. What would happen when she found out he failed his tests? Or worse yet, he flunked out. If she charged him rent, they'd all be sunk.

Coming up the steps to the Maple Inn, Kouta noticed a man taking pictures of the walls. The man then stepped into the gate and took pictures of the building.

"May I help you?" Kouta asked as the man snapped a picture of the garden.

The man smiled and said, "I'm fine, thank you."

"What are you doing?" Kouta asked pointedly.

"Taking photos for a Real Estate sale. It's required. Sorry to intrude," the man said pleasantly. He bowed and left.

Kouta felt his heart drop into the pit of his stomach. The Maple Inn was being sold? "This isn't good," he said to himself.

Yuka hung up the phone and cast a fearful gaze at Kouta. "It's true! Mother is selling the Maple Inn. She didn't even tell us! Kouta, what will we do?"

"Who's the new owner? Maybe we can still rent from him," Kouta asked.

"It's a corporation, mom said the money was too good to turn down. Kouta, we're going to loose our home!" Yuka whined, then hugged him. "I love this place, what are we going to do?" she said in a sob.

Kouta patted Yuka on the back. "Hey, we'll figure something out," he told her as positively as he could.

"Mom did say she'd give us some money if we needed it, but ... this is our home!" Yuka said, then cried on his shoulder.

"I'm back!" Mayu called out.

Kouta hugged Yuka and said, "Don't worry, I'll think of something."

Yuka sniffed and wiped the tears from her eyes. "We will," she said and offered him a weak smile. Regaining her composure, Yuka went to greet Mayu, "Welcome back, Mayu. How was school today?"

Kouta heard Kaede and Nana returned home as he sat, looking at bleak figures. Not matter how he worked it, there was no way they could afford rent along with the other living expenses. He heard Nana happily greet Mayu, then Nana called to Yuka that they were taking Wanta out for a walk. Kouta wondered how much longer those girls would be happy, or any of them had a place to live.

Kaede ran into him from behind, throwing her arms around him and giving him a hug. "So, how did your tests go?" she asked.

"We're in trouble," Kouta said as he stared down at the figures.

Kaede loosened her grip to slide around to his side. Looking at his blank face, she asked, "I take it your didn't do well?'

"I don't think so. We got other problems too," Kouta said as he turned his expressionless face to her. "The Maple Inn is being sold."

"What?" Kaede gasped. "No ... this is our home. You can't sell it!"

"It's not mine, Yuka's mother owns it. We just found out today that she's selling it to some company," he said in a dull tone. "I've been trying to figure out how we're all going to live ... and it doesn't look good."

"Ohh, Kouta!" Kaede said, then hugged him tight. "We'll be OK, I know we will."

"There's ... not enough money..."

"I'll give you mine," Kaede said firmly. "And if mine and yours isn't enough, I'll ask Dad. We'll be OK, don't worry. Even if we can't live here, we'll find someplace for all of us to live together."

Kouta held Kaede and out of curiosity, he asked, "How much did your Dad give you?"

Kaede shrugged and said, "I've spend a lot on clothes and stuff for Yuka and the girls, and a few things for the medical center, but it's a couple hundred thousand short of four million yen."

Kouta pulled back and gapped at her. "You have four million yen?" he asked in a squeak.

"No, it's a bit less than that," Kaede said slowly, "But it should be able to help get us a new place." Frowning at him, she said, "Kouta, what's mine is yours. We'll get through this, OK?"

"Thank you, Kaede," Kouta said with a sigh of relief as he hugged her.

Kaede held him close and kissed cheek. "We'll get through this," she assured him.

Kouta sat at the kitchen table with Yuka's mother at her house.

"I am sorry, Kouta, I really am. Like I told Yuka, the offer was too good to pass up," she explained. Laying a hand over his, she said, "I was planning to give part of the money to you, to help you and Yuka find another place. I know you might have to find homes for these ... other girls, but it will be for the best in the long run."

"We're family, I can't drop them on the street," Kouta said roughly. "So, how much is this offer? What if I can match it?"

"Kouta, I highly doubt you could come up with that kind of money, even if you got a mortgage loan," she said sympathetically.

"I can try. How much?" he asked again.

"Kouta, there is no way.."

"How much," he asked again firmly.

Yuka's mother eyed him for a moment, then said, "Two hundred sixty five million yen."

Kouta thought he felt his heart stop. "That much?" he asked weakly.

"Yes, I told you it was an offer I couldn't refuse. That is almost twice what the Inn is worth. I know you and Yuka have fallen in love with the place, but I have to take this offer," she explained.

"I..." Kouta wanted to say something, but it was obvious that their home was going to be gone soon. Taking a deep breath, he said, "Thank you for speaking with me. I'll be going now."

At lunch in the medical center's cafeteria, Kaede finally caught up with her father. Seeing him sitting alone, she went over and sat down across from him. It was then she saw he had a frown as he ate.

"Hi Dad, what's up?"

Johnathan touched the side of his head. "Could you whack me with a vector, right here? Make it as hard as you want." he said.

Eyeing him, Kaede asked, "It is those government people again?"

"No, they'd been quiet lately. It's just money troubles, this place is a lot more expensive to keep running that I thought it would be, and those 'grants' from the government are pretty lame. They'd promised to cover our expenses, and they maybe cover half. If I put any more money into this place, I'm asking for the damn deed," he said with a chuckle.

"Sorry to hear that," Kaede offered. She was sorry to hear that. She'd been counting on her father help to Kouta out. The way it sounded, he needed help.

"You don't look so chipper either, "Johnathan said. "What happened? No trouble at home, is there?"

"No, we're fine," Kaede said with a forced smile. Changing the subject, she asked, "So, how are the Goto's getting along?"

"Pretty good. Minori has been very attentive of mother, and Yuki may be onto something new. She's been playing around with possible medical aspects of using vectors and she thinks that she can actually heal someone with vectors. If it works, she just may be able to reconnect Mrs. Goto's spinal cord."

"Really?"

"It has to do with feeling where the nerve endings are, then pulling them together. Nothing concrete at the moment, but she's hopeful."

"That would be great," Kaede agreed. And if Yuki could teach her how to do it, she might be able to get a job doing those types of surgeries for doctors. "Dicloni doctors, wouldn't that be something," she mussed.

They talked about other center affairs, but Kaede's mind was on how to keep her family from loosing their home.


	11. Chapter 11

It took research, but Kaede found in the 'legals' part of the newspaper who the agent was that was handling the sale of the Maple inn. In fact, the paper said the sale was already in progress. The small paragraph only said agent, and amount the 'private parties' agreed on. It did not give the buyer's name. Just their company name, Yamagushi Holding Company

Kaede strode into the offices of Yamagushi Holding on the sixth floor of a high rise. Asking directions, she found the manager's office.

The secretary was a young pony tailed woman in a business suit. "May I help you?" she asked pleasantly.

Lucy saw the door marked 'private' was shut. "Is the manager in? I'd like to talk to him about buying the Maple Inn," she said.

The woman looked at her desk calender and said, "He is busy at the moment. You don't have an appointment, do you?"

"No, I just need to see him."

"You'll need an appointment to see him. What company do you represent, miss..." the woman asked.

"No company, I just need to see him. It won't take long," Kaede stated.

The intercom spoke : "Miss Iwasaka, cancel my three-o-clock, I'll be leaving early today."

He was here. Kaede walked to the 'private' door as the secretary answered, then said, "Wait you can't go in there!"

Kaede went in. The man lounging behind the desk sat up and asked, "Who are you?"

"The Maple Inn was bought by this company. Who owns it?" Kaede asked as she strode over to him. The door behind her opened, she reached back and shut it with a vector.

"I'm sorry, but I can't give you any... YAHH!" he cried, flailing as Kaede lifted him from his chair with her vectors.

"Tell me who owns it, or you're taking a trip out the window," Kaede stated.

"Wha... WHO ARE YOU!" he cried.

Kaede opened the window. Upon seeing he was drifting out, he grabbed the casing. Kaede pinned his arms to his body and floated him outside. "Who owns it?" she asked louder.

Eyes the size of saucers, the man struggled helplessly and cried, "I can't tell you!"

Kaede let him go, grabbing an ankle before he fell. The man screamed. Kaede leaned on the window and looked down. "It's a long way down, and I'm loosing my strength. Tell me, or you can have a nice fall ... until you hit that sidewalk down there."

Red faced, the man cried, "Kaede Conrad!"

Kaede was so shocked she almost dropped him anyway. "What!" she cried.

"All I know is her name! She never comes around here. I get instructions from her employees, but I've never even spoken with her. Please don't DROP ME!" the man cried.

Kaede stepped back and brought him back inside. Upon getting back in the window, the man dropped to the floor, breathing heavily and holding his chest. "Thank you for not killing me," he said weakly.

The office door burst open. Two heavily muscled security men charged in. One said, "Let's go, miss." as he approached.

Kaede pushed them back with her vectors to fall on their butts. "I don't think so," she said evenly. Turning to the crumpled manager on the floor, she asked, "I own this company?"

The man looked up at her. "Miss Conrad?" he asked.

"I am Kaede Conrad, now answer my question."

The man gapped at her. "But ... I don't know. The previous owner was a Johnathan Spangler, but that was like four years ago. I had assumed that he'd sold out to you."

"He's my father," Kaede said as she watched the burly men get up. Neither tried to approach her.

"So, Miss Conrad," the manager said as he got up and tried to collect himself. "What can I do for you?"

"The Maple Inn, you bought it?" she asked.

"Under your instructions, or rather from Mr. Fuji's letter of instruction, yes."

To get it straight, Kaede asked, "So, I own the Maple Inn now?"

The manager shrugged and said, "Yes, you own the whole company."

Kaede had many questions, but not for this man. "You will hold onto the Maple Inn, letting the current residents live there until I personally give instructions otherwise," she told him firmly.

"Yes, Ma'am," the manager said automatically. "Let me give you my phone number, so if you can contact me if you need to." He held a card out to her wearing a desperate smile that said 'please don't hurt me'.

Not knowing what else to do, she accepted his card then said, "Thank you for your time." She walked out. The security men stepped aside to let her pass as they gapped at her. She went to see her Father, who did have the answers to the questions she had.

.

Kaede tried to keep it a secret from Kouta like her father wanted. She did well right up until after they went to bed and made love. Lying cuddled up with him, she noticed he stared off at nothing.

"What is it?" she asked as she rubbed his back.

"Would you be OK with Yuka sleeping with us if I can only afford a house with two bedrooms? Nana and Mayu would share the other room," Kouta mussed.

"Hey, stop worrying about that," Kaede said and kissed his cheek. "We're not going anywhere."

Letting out a huff, Kouta said, "Well someone bought this place. And even if they let us stay, I've looked at rental costs, and we won't be able to afford a place this big."

"I met the man who bought it," Kaede said, figuring that little bit of information wasn't going to tell him much. "He said we can stay as long as we want."

Kouta eyed her. "You met him?"

"Yes, Yamagushi Holding company bought the Maple Inn. I met with the manager today. He assured me we can stay," Kaede explained.

Letting out a chuckle, Kouta asked, "What did you do, threaten his life?"

"I hung him out a window," Kaede said with a shrug, "But that's not why he's letting us stay."

"You ... really did that?" Kouta asked.

Kaede frowned and said, "He wasn't cooperating."

Kouta sagged down and said, "Well, at least you didn't try to take it from him."

"He doesn't own it. He's just a manager. But I know who does own that company," Kaede said with a grin. "She's really cool. I think you'd like her."

"You actually know her?" Kouta asked. Watching Kaede intently, he asked, "Who is it?"

"I can't say. But I did find out that this Yanaguchi company owns a lot of stuff. Many buildings here, in Tokyo and other places, a factory, interests in the rail system, a fleet of fishing boats and a full sized sea-going freighter. You've seen pictures of those large container ships, right?"

Kouta thought for a moment, then said, "That's how they could afford to buy the Maple Inn for as much as they did. They're rich."

"Yup," Kaede agreed with a giggle. She so wanted to tell him that her Father had given her the company on her 14th birthday in honor of her. Now that he'd found her, the company was hers. The Maple Inn was their wedding present. "Right now, just relax and know that we can live here as long as we want. Our whole lives, if you like."

Kouta did relax, Kaede swore she felt his whole body sigh in relief. She was hoping he'd want to go for another round, but Kouta fell asleep.

Letting out a sigh, Kaede kissed him, then closed her own eyes. She thought about the picture of the 'Azusa Maru' her father had showed her. A big, long ship packed with colorful container boxes. It even had passenger staterooms and a VIP suite on the back deckhouse. He kept possesion of the 'Kaede Maru' and the four other ships, but he did let her know that a seventh ship was being build by her company, and it would be up to her to name it. She fell asleep, thinkng that the ship should have the name of the first girl she had. She really wanted to have Kouta's baby before the 'Kanae Maru' was finished.

.

.

The heavily tattooed man in a leisure suit looked down on the bed ridden wretch. His whole body was bandaged. Only his aged mouth that sported bits of dried blood from his attempts at trying to speak was visible through the bandages. The man lying in the bed didn't look very impressive. Whoever did this seriously didn't like him.

"My employer here will pay handsomely for you to track the man down. Find out everything you can about him." the suit to the side said.

"Handsome does not pay the bills, how much?"

"Fifty thousand yen per day allowance, one million yen bonus for every fact you uncover. His name and location are most important," the suit said firmly.

"You are wasting my time. A hundred thousand a day, and I will determine what the information is worth," the heavily tattooed man stated.

"We can get someone else," the suit said, eyeing him.

The man with the tattoos eyed him blank faced. "In that case, my fee for coming here is one million yen. If you do not hire me, you must pay this fee. Right now."

"I can't pay you that," the suit said.

The tattooed man pulled his chrome plated pistol. "People who do not pay their debts, do not live," he stated.

From the bed, the old wreck of a man laughed. It was a choky laugh that shot bits of blood into the air. "Hire him!" he croaked, then fell into a coughing fit.

The suit bowed and said, "You are hired."

The tattooed man put his pistol away. "You will not be disappointed," he said, returning the bow.


	12. Chapter 12

.

Yuka sat across the dinning room table from the man who had come representing the new owner of the Maple Inn. His suitcase was opened in front of him, with papers on the table for Yuka to look at.

Yuka looked a the rental agreement and frowned. "We can't afford to pay this," she said with a frown. "Perhaps we should wait for Kouta to return."

"This is what the rent will be, I was assured that there would be no problems," the man stated.

Walking by the room, Kaede stopped and peeked in. "What's up?" she asked.

"We're being charged rent," Yuka said, motioning to the papers.

"It is required," the man said firmly.

Kaede went to the end of the table. Using her vectors, she picked up the rental agreement and tore it up. "No, we're not," she stated.

Gapping at her the man said, "But..."

Eyeing him, Kaede said, "Go tell your boss Kaede Conrad said no rent. If he has a problem with that, I can go explain it to him."

"But... you expect to live in this prime property for free?" the man asked.

"Call your boss, or I will. If I have to, he will not be pleased with you," Kaede said heavily.

The man pulled out his cell phone and dialed the number. "Yes, is Mr. Iwamoto in? I see, thank you." He then closed his phone up and said, "I am sorry, miss. He's not in."

"We'll see about that," Kaede said. She pulled out a card from her skirt pocket and left.

The man looked at the torn up papers. "How did she do that?" he asked.

"I'm so sorry. Kaede can be scary at times," Yuka said apologetically. "Is there a chance we could work something out? That is a lot of money."

"I have my instructions," the man said firmly. I will have another agreement drawn up, and you will be charged for the paperwork."

Yuka winced and said, "Please, can we work something out?"

"I am sorry. Our company paid a substantial amount for this place, expecting it to be an active business. The rental fee reflects that. Perhaps if you did open for business, you could manage the rent. If you cannot, then you will be required to leave in thirty days," the man explained firmly.

"I was assured we could live here," Yuka said.

The man shrugged and said, "If you cannot pay, you must find other accommodations."

Yuka desperately tried to think of something to appease the man. "If we open for business, can we defer the first two month's rent?" she asked hopefully.

The man's cell phone rang. He picked it up. "Yes? ... This is he ... I am at the Maple Inn, informing the residents of their rent responsibilities..." his face then turned red as he stuttered. "I see ... yes sir ... yes sir." He then closed his phone up and packed the ripped up papers into his suitcase as he said, "So sorry to have bothered you. I'll be going now."

"What about the rent?" Yuka asked.

"There is no rent, I was... mislead," the man said as he bowed to Yuka. He got to the doorway to meet Kaede who was coming in. He bowed deeply again. "So sorry to have bothered you, Miss Conrad," he said meekly.

Kaede moved aside so he could leave. The man did so quickly.

Yuka gapped at Kaede. "What did you do to him?" she asked.

Sporting a crooked grin, Kaede said, "I merely asked his boss if he wanted me to hang him out a window again. He wisely chose not to charge us rent."

"You... can't do that!" Yuka said wide-eyed.

Kaede shrugged and replied, "Already done."

Frowning in worry, Yuka watched Kaede sit down with a satisfied smile on her face. "Kaede, if they go to the police, we could be in big trouble. You CAN'T do things like that!" Yuka said with a frustrated whine.

"No one is going to the police. I've ... made arrangements with the new owner. We can live here as long as we want," Kaede assured her.

Stiffening herself, Yuka said, "Kaede, only bad people threaten others into doing things. I don't think Kouta, or your father would be very pleased with you if they knew you threatened the owner of a company into giving us free rent!"

Kaede rolled her eyes. "I didn't threaten the owner, only the manager of that holding company into telling me who the owner is," she said with a sigh.

"And this owner is fine with letting us live here for free?"

"Yes. Apparently word did not get down to the real estate offices very fast," Kaede explained.

"And who is it that is so generous?" Yuka asked in a challenge.

Kaede eyed her, and after mulling over some possible lies, she decided to say, "Someone who loves this family."

"And who might that be?"

The phone rang. "I'll get it," Kaede said, and ran to the phone.

.

Kaede left after the phone call, her father had some work for her. Yuka pondered about who this new owner might be. Her mother had just sold the Maple Inn, so it wasn't her. She was never thrilled about Yuka living with horned girls in the first place. Johnathan maybe? If he did, Yuka was sure he would not make a slip-up like not telling his own people about not charging rent. Kaede had some money she got from Johnathan, but not the half-billion yen the Maple Inn had sold for. Busying herself with laundry, Yuka pondered and tried to figure out who this owner was. It had to be someone who was close to them, yet none of them had anything close to that kind of money.

"I'm home," Kouta called from the entryway.

Yuka greeted Kouta in the hallway. "Welcome home, how did the job hunting go?" she asked cheerfully.

"A couple possibles," Kouta said. "Is Kaede home? She called earlier with a small difficulty."

"Kaede ... called you?" Yuka asked, thinking of Kaede telling that man there wasn't going to be rent.

"Yes, nothing to worry about. I took care of it," Kouta assured her.

"But ... how?" Yuka asked, stunned.

"It wasn't that hard. I told you I took care of it," Kouta said, eyeing Yuka. "Is Kaede here?"

"Her father called her away on some job," Yuka said trying to piece things together. Kaede had said the owner was someone who loved this family. Had Kouta somehow pulled it off? That didn't make sense, because Kouta didn't own anything, let alone a big company. "Kouta, do you ...know who the owner of the Maple Inn is?"

"No, but Kaede knows her."

Racking her brains, Yuka tried to figure out who, 'her' was.

"We're home!" Mayu and Nana cried happily. Running up to Yuka and Kouta, Nana beamed them a bright smile as she said, "I passed my first test in school! Isn't that great?"

"That is wonderful Nana," Kouta and Yuka said.

"It was only a quiz," Mayu said in a more subdued tone.

"But, I passed it!" Nana insisted.

"Well then let's celebrate with some ice cream!" Yuka announced.

"Yay!" Nana cried.

Yuka got the girls their ice cream, smiling at how happy and innocent Nana was. Even Mayu, who was about the same age, knew more about the word than Nana. Mayu even had to tell Nana what money was. Nana had walked around hungry, not even realizing the 10,000 yen notes that filled her purse could have bought her a feast.

Yuka paused as she watched the girls eating their ice cream. Were there other things Nana didn't realize the importance of? Nana said her Papa had given her that money. Was there other things Nana's Papa had given her that she didn't know about?

The one who owned the Maple Inn loved this family. Kaede wouldn't lie about something like that. If Nana's Papa had given her money, he'd also want a place for her to live. Could he also have engineered purchasing the Maple Inn for Nana to live at? Since Nana could not run a business, had her Papa also gotten someone a bit more mature and forceful to run it for her?

The man who had came demanding rent backed down quickly once Kaede had called his boss. Was Kaede taking care of company affairs for Nana? Was that why they didn't seem to get along very well at first?

Before she thought it through, Yuka asked, "Nana, do you know who owns the Maple Inn now?"

Spoon in her mouth, Nana turned to look at her. Shifting her gaze to not- quite looking at Yuka, Nana pulled the spoon out and said, "I'm not suppose to say. Don't worry, Yuka, we can all live here as long as we want." She then scooped up some more ice cream and kept eating.

It couldn't be, but it was true. Nana owned the Maple Inn! Not only the Maple Inn, but a big company that Kaede was taking care of for her. The cute, innocent girl living with them was rich! There was possibly a vast economic empire waiting for Nana to become mature enough to take over.

That was, as long as Kaede made good decisions for Nana.

Yuka didn't know a lot about running a huge company, but she did know only people who were experts at such a thing should do so.

.

Yuka busied herself outside so she could meet Kaede returning home. As Kaede came in through the gate, Yuka made sure no one else was nearby, and stopped her. Seriously, she said, "Kaede, I know who the owner is. I don't think you are capable of doing the best job with such a big company. Do you have someone capable of watching the entire operation?"

Kaede gapped at Yuka. "HOW did you find out?" she asked.

"Never mind that! Is there someone who is a professional running the entire business? It would be very bad if that person didn't know what they were doing," Yuka said firmly.

"Mr. Fuji is the over all manager," Kaede said slowly, "From everything I've found, he is doing a good job."

"Have you asked for financial statements? Income, profits, investments, reserve funds? What about allowances, and maybe trust funds set up for Nana and Mayu?" Yuka asked.

"Trust funds?" Kaede asked.

"Money set aside for their education, and for later in life."

"That does seem like a good idea," Kaede mussed.

"Kaede, please let me help! This is too important to try and do all by yourself," Yuka pleaded.

Kaede nodded absently, then said, "OK, but don't tell Kouta. The Maple Inn is suppose to be given to him as a surprise."

Yuka's mind churned. If Kouta owned the Maple Inn, he'd be a land owner. Land owners could have two wives. "Not a word!" she promised, wearing a big smile.


	13. Chapter 13

In the public library, the well dressed man bearing heavy tattoos thought that finding a lead to the one who had shot someone ten times would be as easy task. He had the time frame of the crime, but he could find nothing official, and there had been no news coverage of it either. He flipped through a few more pages of newspaper headlines on the computer. He had the date that the island had suffered a disaster -which was being called an accident. Kakuzawa had been attacked only a couple days after, but he could find no mention of it in the news. Not even in the police reports.

His cell phone buzzed in his pocket. He picked it up and quietly said, "Mr. Kaido."

"I have the list you wanted," the suit said.

"Very good, I'll be by later today to get it." He replied, and flipped his phone shut. Getting up, he thanked the librarian and left to go to the only lead he had.

.

The Medial research center for special needs had sprung up not long after the Island's – and Kakuzawa's demise. Not that any of the employees there had seen the man who put Kakuzawa out of commission, but from his investigations, many of Kakuzawa's ex-workers who lived were working there now. All he needed was single person to remember a face, a voice, or name. He'd been given the name "Lucy", as the daughter of the man he was looking for. That was a code name, however, he needed to find out her real name. Half of the wild claims the suit had told about he was sure were nothing but not understanding that this "Lucy" was an excellent martial artist who knew deception. He well knew a fast dodge, and lightning quick reflexes could defeat a man with a gun. Even so, he had to consider this Lucy, as well as her father, as extremely dangerous in close quarters.

Taking a taxi, he arrived at the Special needs building and studied the wall directory just inside the door to figure out just what they did here. He noted names and office numbers, and the fact only one man had a 'DR' by his name. For a medical research facility, they didn't seem to have the personnel to operate.

"May I help you?" the receptionist called over to him.

He smiled and gave her a shrug as he said, "I'm not sure. I was recommenced this place... for my daughter, but I don't know if they can help us."

"Where is your daughter?" she asked, her face showing concern

"At home. There is no emergency, she's doing well," he said quickly. "But, you know how it is with special needs, any moment and things could get bad." He fidgeted in place, doing his best to look nervous.

The woman looked down at her desk and said, "Let me see if Mrs. Spangler is in. What is your name, Sir?"

"Mr. Kaido Heideki."

The woman talked with someone, then looked up at him and asked, "Who recommended you, Mr. Kaido?"

"A doctor from the city hospital, I forget his name," he said apologetically. "He did say it was urgent I contact someone here."

The woman talked on the phone. She then smiled and said, "Miss Arakawa is on her way down, I'm sure she can help you, Sir."

"Thank you so much," he said, keeping up his nervous smile. Seeing a row of chairs, he sat down and waited. He knew the name Arakawa, she had been on the island research team. This was a possible lead.

A bespectacled woman in a lab coat arrived at the receptionist's desk. She followed the pointing finger and came over to introduce herself.

The woman was business like in her stride, and tone. "I am Miss Arakawa, where is your daughter, Mr. Kaido," she said crisply.

Motioning, he said in a subdued tone, "At home, I ... hesitate to bring her in public."

"Understandable. Has she become violent?"

Thinking of a child pulling a fit, he said, "Not terribly so, but her ... outbursts do make me concerned for our safety. No one has been hurt, it's just been broken things."

"Then you will need an escort," Miss Arakawa said firmly. "Wait here, I'll see who is available."

Not sure what she was talking about, he raised his hands and said, "No need, I can sweet talk her enough to come willingly." Fishing for information, he asked, "Will she be treated here, or can I help her at home?"

"Mr. Keido," Miss Arakawa said firmly, "Your daughter needs more supervision and instruction than you and your wife can give. What is your daughter's name?"

"Rei," he said, thinking of the brothel madam he knew.

"How old is Rei?"

"She turned five last month."

"Then you are very lucky that no one has been injured or killed. We can handle Rei, but it has to be done here in a controlled environment."

"Perhaps if I could see your facility, to make sure I've come to the right place?" he asked.

Miss Arakawa studied him for a moment, then asked, "Describe your daughter to me. Her physical characteristics. In detail, please."

"Is that so important?" he asked. Up until now, he'd been thinking that this was some sort of mental hospital to deal with crazy people. Remembering some of the things the suit had told him, he said, "I'm not sure you'd believe me. Her hair is ... oddly colored, and she had these... protrusions on her head. Whenever she does go out, we make sure she wears a hat to cover them. We dye her hair to a normal dark brown, so the true color doesn't show."

Miss Arakawa gave a nod and said, "We can help her, but she need to come here. The safest way is for someone to escort her to ensure no accidents happen."

"Speaking of accidents, do you know what happened to Mr. Kakuzawa?" he asked innocently.

Miss Arakawa frowned at him. "Why would you bring him up?" she asked warily.

There were only the three of them in the foyer. He also noticed a camera sphere in the ceiling in the corner. It was mirrored, so the camera could be facing any direction. This was not the place to press his questions. "I heard that a treatment did not go well, and some father ... attacked him," he offered.

"Mr. Kakuzawa retired, no one attacked him," she said bluntly.

"My mistake," he said, noting she had blurted out what sounded like a well rehearsed line. She did know something, and wasn't going to share it willingly. "So, the treatments are safe? I am concerned for my daughter's well being, that is why I ask."

"Nothing is 'safe' with these girls, but we do take great care with them," Miss Arakawa said. "Give me your address and phone number. I'll have someone stop by your place. That would be for the best, don't you think?"

"Yes," he agreed. She wasn't going to talk here, and he didn't want to prolong a useless conversation. He went over to the desk and wrote down an address of an apartment complex across town. "What time can I expect you?" he asked as he wrote.

"That will be up to Mr. Spangler. I would imagine soon. Later today or tomorrow."

He thanked Miss Awakawa for her time, and promised to let his family know someone would be coming.

Upon leaving, he went across the street and down to a cafe to watch the building. Miss Arakawa had to go home, and when she did, he'd get some answers.

.

Yuki went to the address Miss Arakawa gave her and found the apartment. Johnathan was still busy in his office, so she decided to come alone. Standing right at the door, she couldn't sense any diclonius within. She knocked, wondering if they were out.

The door opened and a middle aged woman in an apron asked, "yes?"

"Mrs. Keido?" Yuki asked.

The woman shook here head, saying, "No one by that name lives here."

"You don't have a daughter that is ... different?" Yuki asked.

"We only have one son," the woman said. "I'm sorry, but I can't help you."

"Sorry to have bothered you," Yuki replied. She turned away and looked at the address again. Could it have been the wrong place?

Feeling something zipping towards her at high speed, Yuki caught it with a mind hand before it hit her. She looked at the long hypo dart and frowned. Looking back the way it had come, she glimpsed a form disappearing around a corner of the building across the street.

Yuki's gut instinct was to chase that person down. With the crowded streets, and the fact she didn't even see who it was, doing so would be foolish. Holding the dart carefully, she knew she had to tell Jonathan about this. Someone was after them again.


	14. Chapter 14

Arakawa awoke to a bright light shining in her face. Her arms and legs were tied down, a cloth had been stuffed in her mouth. Confused and frightened, she struggled to free herself. Her screams came out as muted squeaks.

"Silence, or you will choke to death on that gag," a soft male voice said.

Arakawa tried to look to see who tied her down in her bed. All she could see was the glaring light in front of her. She squinted from the pain of the brightness.

"Perhaps a bit more motivation?" the voice asked.

A long steel shape appeared. Arakawa felt the sharpness of the knife against her throat. She stiffened and fell silent. The gag came off.

"The truth will set you free. Deception will kill you. Do you understand?" the voice asked.

"Yes," she said weakly.

"Your former boss, Mr. Kakuzawa, left his post after he was attacked by a very dangerous man. This man is the father of a woman you called 'Lucy'. Do you believe me?"

"Yes," Arakawa said with a squeak in her voice.

"Where can I find Lucy and her father?"

Arakawa swallowed hard and said, "She'll kill me if I tell you."

"I will kill you now if you don't. Tell me, and you will have a chance to flee."

Arakawa felt the knife press into her throat. "OK, OK! Lucy works at the Medical center for Special needs. Her name is Kaede. Her father runs the facility. His name is Johnathan Spangler."

The knife came up off her throat. "Now, describe this Lucy to me."

"She's a diclonius, she's kinda hard to miss," Arakawa said sarcastically. She tried to see who was there, but beyond the bright light was only blackness.

"Diclonius? The woman who can kill people with a thought and stop bullets?"

"Yes."

"And you've seen this."

"I saw the video of her escape. She killed twenty seven armed men. She walked through their gunfire without being touched," Awakawa stated.

"Was she wearing a robe of some kind of vest?"

"She was naked."

"This Johnathan.. what was his last name?"

"Spangler."

"Right. Is he like she is?"

Arakawa again tried to see who was holding her, but the glare of the light was too much. "I don't think so."

"Where do they live?"

"I don't know. Someplace near the shore, I think," Arakawa said, then stiffened as the knife returned to her throat.

"Come on, you know," the man's voice coached.

"I don't know, I swear!"

"Very well then," the voice said. The knife was removed.

Awakawa heard footsteps walk away and come back. "Will you let me go now?" she asked.

"Indeed, you'll be gone in a moment."

A towel was then dropped over her head and chest. A hand went to her mouth, pushing her face down hard. Under the towel, she felt the cold steel of the knife draw hard across her throat. Pain erupted as the knife sank in. Struggling, she tried to scream, get away, do anything as the blade crunched down through her windpipe. Her body spasmed as she desperately tried to fight. She felt the knife cut down through her neck as hot blood flooded around her head. She tried to fight the growing blackness that overcame her, and failed.

.

In the lab at the medical clinic, Johnathan scrutinized the dart as he held it. Putting it back in the clear plastic bag, he said, "It's an animal tranquilizer. Someone tried to kidnap you." He eyed Yuki and asked, "See who it was?"

Yuki shook her head. "All I saw was a glimpse. Light clothes. I'm sure it was a man, but like I said, I really didn't get a very good look." Casting Jonathan a worried look, she asked, "Whoever this is, they won't bother my father, will they?"

"Hard to say," Johnathan said with a frown. "I looked at the video that shows the man who gave Miss Arakawa that address. No one has seen him around before. Either he is just staring out on his venture, or he's desperate enough to start getting sloppy. We have to assume this guy knows much about us. He may try something else stupid. Yuki, go to your father's house and stay there. Watch over him. Contact me if anything out of the ordinary happens."

"Want me to go look for him?" Kaede asked.

Johnathan shook his head. "I'd like it if you stayed at home and watched out for your family, just in case. As I said, we have to assume he knows about us."

Yuki nodded, then gave Johnathan a tight hug. "Why won't they leave us alone?" she whispered.

Returning her hug, Jonathan kissed her head, then said to both of them, "Be very careful, we don't know who's behind this. I promise I will find out."

"And if he comes after you?" Kaede asked her father.

Johnathan cast her a crooked grin and said, "Then I'll know who is it. You've got people at home who can't defend themselves, Kaede. For the moment, focus on protecting them. Now go home, cover up and take a taxi."

Kaede let out a huff, but did as he asked. He saw them both off in separate taxi's from the shipping dock, then tried to call Arakawa at home. Once the phone went to voice mail, he called Mr. Y. to get some people out to find this man. He then put the word out on his network of contacts.

Unfortunately, no one was slinking about his apartment when he got there. Johnathan slept lightly, thinking he might get a visitor. He did, but not the kind he was expecting. In the early hours of the morning, a policeman came to the door to question him about the recently murdered Arakawa.

.

Kouta stood outside the entryway with the letter from the university in his hand. Gazing at the letter fearfully, he went to open it and paused. This was the exam results.

"Who was that?" Kaede asked as she suddenly appeared behind him.

"Gaaa!" Kouta yelped and dropped the letter. Recovering from the fright he turned around and cried, "Don't do that!"

"Who was here?" Kaede asked again as she looked warily out at the gate.

"The mail man," Kouta said in a huff. He bent over and picked his letter up. "Why are you concerned about the mail man?" he asked.

"Someone is after us again. Come inside," Kaede said as she took his arm. Kaede led him back inside and shut the door. Seeing Yuka coming out with a bag, she asked, "Where are you going?"

"Shopping," Yuka said, eyeing Kaede.

"Is it something we really need?"

"If you'd like to have dinner tonight," Yuka said dryly.

Kaede thought briefly, then said, "I'm going with you. Kouta, please stay in until I get back."

"Kaede, if someone is after you, shouldn't you stay inside?" Kouta asked.

"Kouta's right," Yuka said. "If they are looking for you, you and Nana should remain indoors."

"And what if someone attacks you when you are out?" Kaede asked heavily.

Kouta said, "Yuka, I'll go with you."

"Didn't I just say I want you to stay here?" Kaede asked as she eyed him.

"I'll be fine," Yuka assured them. She opened the door to see four serious looking men, one who had his hand raised to knock.

Before Yuka could move, Kaede flew past her. All four men were lifted into the air with surprised cries.

"Who are you!" Kaede snapped as she dangled the men six feet off the ground.

One of the shocked men reached slowly into his coat pocket and produced a badge. "Police... we came to find out if you knew about Miss Arakawa," he said weakly.

"She works for my father. What about her?" Kaede asked heavily.

"She was found murdered. Could you let us down? We'd like to speak with you," the man said in his small voice.

.

Mr. Kaido sat in a park down the street of the Medical research facility of Johnathan Spangler. He was careful to wear a turtleneck sweater, wide brimmed hat and sunglasses. His cell phone was to his ear. Listening to the phone on the other end ring, he held a newspaper that had a closeup of his picture from a security camera that had seen him inside the research center. The headlines marked him as wanted for murder.

"Yes?" the suit said as he answered.

"Tell, me just what have you gotten me into?" he asked.

"Have you found the information we seek?"

"Yes, but it will cost you triple. This man moves very fast, and I think if they do find me, I won't live to see a jail. An event last night already caused my picture to be on the front page this morning. Dangerous is a very subdued term to describe these people."

"We will pay what you require. Please bring the information we requested."

The phone went to dial tone.

Mr. Kaido got up. Noticing police talking to some people at one end of the park, he waked down the path to the other exit. There, some stupid American wearing painfully bright clothes was taking pictures of a couple. As he approached, the man insulted the American with a smile. The American smiled, and gave a clumsy bow as he thanked him.

"Stupid people should be shot," Mr. Kaido grumbled as he went to walk past them.

The American went to step back and tripped into him. Mr. Kaido caught him as the American's arms flailed and clutched him for support. He pushed the man upright.

"I'd be too much trouble to kill you," Mr. Kaido said with a tight smile.

"Yes ... thank you... Arigato!" the American said in his clueless happiness.

Leaving the stupid man alive to bother other people, Mr. Kaido walked to his car a few blocks away. Noting what looked like plainclothes policemen nearby, he opted to walk to the train station. He didn't know how they had marked his car so fast, but he was sure this Johnathan was now after him. It was time to get his money and disappear.

Two trains and a cab ride later, Mr. Kaido visited the suit in his office.

Sliding a fat envelope onto his desk, the suit asked, "What have you discovered?"

Mr. Kaido picked the envelope up and opened it to leaf through the bills as he said, "The man you're looking for is Johnathan Spangler. He runs the Medical research facility, and he's very well connected. He has those Diclonius women working for him as well."

"That is more than we knew," The suit said. "We will be calling on you for further... jobs as the need arises."

"No, you won't," Mr Kaido stated. "I'm finished with this. This guy is not someone to mess with."

The phone rang. The suit punched the intercom button and said, "I told you I do not wish to be disturbed!"

"Aww, too bad," a man's voice said from the speaker. "Tell you what, you send your assassin out here, and I may not damage you too badly. That is, so long as you tell me who you work for."

Mr. Kaido pulled his gun and faced the door. "How!" he spat.

"Hey, Mr. Assassin. I figure you got your gun up, waiting to shoot whoever comes in that office," the voice said in a casual tone. "I got a special deal for you. Drop your gun and come on out, and I'll let the police take you in. If not ... well, Yuki here is pretty upset you tried to knock her out with that dart. I'll let her take care of you. You may want to think hard about that."

"Who is this?" the suit asked.

"Oh, so sorry. You can call me Johnathan. Make your choices now, gentlemen, or I'll decide for you."

Mr. Kaido stood immobile for a few seconds, then dropped his gun. "I'm coming out," he announced.

"Wise choice. Hands on top of your head. We don't want any accidents," the intercom said.

The door opened. Mr. Kaido walked out to see a SWAT team, the yellow haired Diclonius, and the stupid American that had run into him at the park.

"Not as dumb as you look," the American said in perfect Japanese. He slapped Mr. Kaido on the cheek lightly with a double tap, then frowned and said, "I'll take this back now."

He pulled a tiny square of what looked like cloth off of Mr. Kaido's shoulder. "Tracking device," he said with a wink, then went into the office.

.

Kakuzawa heard the door to his room open. Someone came in and stood beside him.

"Nurse, I need another pain shot," he said in his rough voice.

"Not my job. Remember me?" a male voice asked.

Kakuzawa would never forget that voice. "You!" he spat, then coughed from the effort. Coughing was still taking its toll. Fighting the reflex to keep coughing, he finally got his breath back.

"It's good to be remembered, don't you think?" the voice asked.

The voice sounded closer. "Your errand boy and your assistant are being held by the police. I bet you'd like to kill me, or at least hope that I'm going to kill you. Sorry, that's not happening. I will work very hard to keep you alive. Seventeen years. That's the time in agony that you owe my daughter. You will pay up."

Seeing the crazy man in his mind, Kakuzawa scratched out as calmly as he could, "Who are you?"

In a malevolent tone, the voice said. "I'm your nightmare. I'm never going away, and I'll never leave you in peace. Oh, by the way, you'll be moved to a more... suitable location where I can keep a better eye on you. Can't have you dying on me. Or healing up to much, for that matter."

Kakuzawa screamed out his fury, then fell into a coughing fit that he couldn't stop. Sometime as he was choking on his own blood, medical people came in to save him. As they did, in his mind he could see the man's face who had snuck into his office to mutilate him. Just like in his nightmares.


	15. Chapter 15

Yuka wore her bride's maid dress, watching Mayu and Nana in their cute pink bride's maid dresses as they walked up the steps overlooking the sea just ahead of her. Yuka could see and hear, but it felt like nothing was real. It couldn't be real. For today, Kaede was going to take Kouta away from her for good.

"Come on, Yuka, we don't want to be late!" Mayu said. Her and Nana both wore happy smiles as Yuka slowly caught up to them.

"Yuka, you aren't sick, are you" Nana asked with concern in her eyes.

Sick? Was that the pain she was feeling deep in her gut? "I just don't feel the best, Nana. I'll be fine," she lied.

"We're almost there," Mayu assured her. "Once we get there you can sit down, Yuka."

Yuka cast her a weak grin. Both Mayu and Nana were sweet children. Kouta was still going to be their father, but now, they would also be Kaede's sweet children, not hers.

Kaede, the woman who had washed up on the shore and took everything from her. The worst part was that Yuka couldn't even hate her. Many things had happened that Yuka couldn't understand. The soldiers, Kaede's very existence, and the seemingly iron-clad bond between her and Kouta. Through it all, Kaede had never been mean to her. Even after Yuka discovered that Kouta was in love with Kaede instead of her, Kaede had fought for her to stay, and even offered to share Kouta with her. That was something Yuka herself would have never done. Although Yuka wanted to, she couldn't bring ehrself to hate her.

The problem was that Yuka would never be happy sharing Kouta with anyone, and she doubted Kaede would truly be happy with that either. Watching the stairs at her feet as she went on step by step, Yuka decided that for her own good, as well as theirs, she would find a reason to leave.

The platform at top of the stairs overlooking the ocean was bare, but the steps on both sides were crowded. On the ocean side were Kouta, the priest, and the people from their classes that had come to watch. On this side, Kaede stood beside Johnathan and Yuki. Yuki fawned over Kaede's long white gown. Mayu and Nana ran the last few steps to let Kaede know how pretty she looked.

Yuka hung back, not wanting to talk to anyone. She hoped she could just stand right here, and pick another direction to look in when the vows were exchanged. Vows between her Kouta, and the woman who washed up on the shore. She had no such luck.

"Yuka, get up here!" Nana cried. Bouncing down to her, Nana grabbed Yuka's hand and hauled her up, saying, "Come on, you have to be first!"

Yuka went with her, and took her place a couple steps up from the girls. Someone said they were ready. Yuka knew what she was suppose to do. If she didn't walk up to the top, would that mean Kouta wouldn't get married? Would she have one last chance, no matter how slim, to win him back?

"Yuka," Nana said from behind her in a stressed whisper.

Feeling like she was walking to her own execution, Yuka slowly climbed the steps. Coming to the top, she saw the priest, and her Kouta in his tux, looking very handsome. They stood on the edge of the landing on the ocean side. She walked up to stand beside him. Maybe the priest could start now, she thought. She could marry Kouta instead.

"Umm, Yuka, you have to step back," Kouta said with a wince.

"By me, Yuka," Nana coached.

Yuka reluctantly stepped to the side. If she pushed the priest down the steps, that would stop the wedding, wouldn't it? The nearest onlookers were far enough away he would at least get bruised enough to go to the hospital. Watching the priest as she contemplated his demise, she didn't see Kaede approach with her father. Kaede coming into view surprised her.

The priest announced, "This place is special to this man and woman we are here to join together today. It was here that they hummed they song, holding hands when they were children. It was here they shared their first kiss as adults..."

Yuka's mind whirled. Kouta had known Kaede since they were children? They KISSED here? Yuka knew Kouta loved this spot. When the professor had taken Kaede, who they knew as Nyuu that day, he had come up here to cry. As Yuka thought about that, oblivious to the words the priest was saying, or Kouta and Kaede's vows, she thought hard about when they were children. The last time Kouta had visited her, he had mentioned meeting a strange girl with horns. Had Kaede stolen his heart way back then? For some reason, she thought about that music box Kouta loved than played that sad tune. As she did, that haunting melody began playing in her head. The sad and lonesome tune seemed appropriate, somehow.

"I now pronounce you man and wife!" The priest announced.

Yuka looked up to see Kouta and Kaede wrapped their arms around each other as they kissed deeply. As they did, Yuka began to hum, hearing that music box tune in her head.

"Na na naaa na. Na na naaaa, na naa na naaaa..."

The newlyweds broke their kiss and looked at Yuka with shocked faces. Their shock melted into dual smiles. They hummed with her as they held hands. Tears came to Kaede's face as they all hummed together.

"Na na na naaaaa, na na na naa na naaaa..."

Behind her, Yuka heard Yuki burst out into happy tears, as did other girls.

The next thing Yuka knew, Kouta and Kaede were both hugging her.

"Thank you," Kaede said in a gentle voice.

"Thank you, Yuka," Kouta said in the same soft tone. He kissed her gently on the cheek.

"Ohhh," Yuki said in a happy whine. She then asked Johnathan, "When are WE getting married?"

"I wanna get married too!" Nana cried in her over excitement as she beamed them a smile.

"Huh?" Kouta asked as he gapped at her. Laughter sounded around them.

When Kaede and Kouta hugged her, Yuka wanted to cry but Nana's silliness made her chuckle through her tears. It was only on the cheek, but she DID get a kiss from Kouta.

"Throw the bouquet!" a girl from their class yelled.

Kaede tossed the bouquet into the air, girls' arms reached up to grab it. Before it fell far enough to fall into someone's grasp, it shot back the way it had come, and raced back up the stairs and into Yuki's hands.

Sporting a wide grin, Yuki looked at Johnathan expectantly and asked, "Well?"

All eyes turned to Johnathan. He let out a huff, then got down on one knee. Holding Yuki's hand, he asked in a sincere tone, "Yuki, would you do me the honor of being my wife?"

"YES!" Yuki cried and jumped on him to hug him with her arms and legs.

Johnathan recoiled from the impact. Vectors propped him up, keeping him from falling down. He managed to regain his feet, kissing Yuki deeply. Jaws dropped at seeing the mismatched couple.

"ME TOO!" Ayami cried as she vaulted four meters over the wedding party to land by Johnathan. "Don't forget me!" she cried, bouncing in place.

Yuka stood stunned as Johnathan and Yuki each put an arm around Ayami. Ayami hugged them back, giddy with joy. Some people laughed at her enthusiasm, others just stared at the scene.

The priest gapped at them. "I don't believe this," he said weakly.

Yuka frowned at Johnathan. He was a worse pervert than Kouta! He was going to marry them at HIS age? She turned to tell Kaede to remind her father that he couldn't marry both those girls. The place beside her was empty. Kouta and Kaede were making their way down through the crowd, accepting congratulations as they headed for the limousine that awaited them.

Yuka took a step to follow, then realized that this was where Kouta left her behind. Kouta and Kaede were going on their honeymoon. Yuka was the odd woman out. No matter what she did, Kouta's heart would never belong to her. "Kouta, you idiot," she whispered to herself.

Everyone waved as the newlyweds reached the limo and got in.

"Yuka we have to get back and get ready for the party," Mayu said.

"Can I help?" Ayami asked from under one of Johnathan's shoulders.

Looking around them, Yuka saw they were in the middle of the crowd. "We have to wait until the crowd thins," she explained.

"No we don't! Nana and Ayami will get things out," Nana announced. "Just come back when you can." Turning to Ayami, Nana said, "I'll race you."

"OK, let's go!" Ayami yelled.

Nana and Ayami catapulted into the air high over the crowd, landing on the far side steps. Their heads were seen again as they took another incredibly long jump back toward the Maple Inn.

"I better go keep them out of trouble," Yuki said. She then launched herself in a long bound to follow them.

"I ... don't believe this," the Priest said weakly as he watched then bound away.

Johnathan chuckled at the quickly departing girls. He looked at Yuka and held his elbow up for her to take. "May I escort you?" he asked.

"Haven't you had enough girls at your side today?' Yuka asked as she eyed him warily.

Johnathan shrugged. "Whatever makes them happy," he replied.

Yuka shook her head with a sigh. Kouta and Kaede may have left on their honeymoon, but the craziness was sure to continue. SOMEONE had to stay here and watch out for these girls, and she couldn't trust the pervert to do it. Yuke made her way home to make sure everything was set up correctly.

The End

**Author's Note : **Sorry this took so long. My original notes were all mixed up. I hope you have enjoyed this tale.


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